Violet-Eyed Sun
by Corisadne
Summary: While defending Suna, Gaara meets a new ninja, a shockingly beautiful girl named Sarriette. Please comment! Constructive criticism is welcome and will be accepted graciously :) GaaraxOC
1. Chapter 1

Outwardly, I show no sign of fatigue, but internally I am gasping for breath. While I am still quite powerful, powerful enough to have been made Kazekage of Sunagakure at the age of fifteen and remain Kazekage for the past five years, this fight is taking a toll on me. Though I have told no one, I am aware of the decrease in my chakra since Shukaku, the one-tailed beast that was sealed inside of me before birth, was released.

I had been attending a Council meeting when I was informed of a potential threat approaching Suna. Though Baki had insisted I bring Kankuro or Tamari with me to neutralize the threat, I had refused. I had already been feeling restless for days.

While most of the bloodlust that stemmed from Shukaku had disappeared with him, I still feel… violent under a full moon. Something I have also kept from my siblings and advisors. I have to make them and my people believe that I'm not the monster I used to be.

So I had gone alone, expecting a quick fight against one or a small group of Missing-nin unsatisfied with my position as Kazekage, just outside the village. Instead, I had gone miles into the desert, far from my village, and been confronted with seven unidentifiable Jonin.

I had taken out four quite quickly, but the last three were good, very good. Almost on the same level as the Akatsuki. Against one of them I would have been fine, but with these three working together… Victory is proving more difficult than I had originally thought.

Their teamwork is flawless. Every time one is moments away from being crushed by my sand coffin, the other two attack from different sides, diverting my attention and forcing me to defend myself.

For one full hour we have been fighting and I am exhausted. _I can't keep this up for much longer. _I think. _Something needs to change, preferably in my favor. _I quickly glance in the direction of Suna hoping that Tamari or Kankuro will have come looking for me by now, but knowing they haven't. It isn't unusual for me to disappear into the desert for hours at a time. The fight goes on in complete silence from my opponents and I, the only sounds being the hiss of my sand, the dull thunks of shuriken and kunai against my Shield of Sand, and the very rare paper bomb attached to the end of a kunai going off.

_Well, _I think as the three Jonin back off about 15 feet for a moment, grouping together and facing me. _If I am this drained, they must have used up all their chakra. _The strange shinobi had stopped using jutsu's twenty minutes ago.

I take a moment to study them, attempting to figure out who these strangers are, but it's impossible. All of them wear loose, black clothing and white masks over their face. I can't even tell if they are male or female let alone what village they are from. None of their jutsu's had been anything I had ever seen before.

Suddenly, I see a movement coming in from my left. In my exhaustion, I have lowered my guard. It's a basic mistake that might prove fatal. It's one of the Shinobi trying to run me through with a sword and I quickly bring up a thick wall of my chakra-infused sand to block it. I lost the ability to control regular sand twenty minutes ago and am saving the very last reserves of my chakra to use once I formulate a plan to get me out of this mess. So far, however, I have drawn a complete blank.

A shadow from behind me has me spinning around, using the rest of my sand to stop it. A blade sinks into the sand and I can feel the first Shinobi's blade do the same. Thinking quickly, I shove the sand up both swords, encasing the two nin but removing my most of my defenses. I don't smile, not quite, but I tilt my lips up in a much more terrifying way. To them, I must look like the possessed demon I once was. I raise my right palm, about to close it and complete the sand coffin, when I feel something cold go through my torso. I freeze, then look down to see the curved blade of a sword sticking out of my stomach. I try to close my hands, killing at least two of the three remaining faceless Shinobi, it's no use. I have failed my village, and myself. My arms fall to my sides, the sand releasing its captives, and I fall to my knees. _How did the sword get through my Armor of Sand?_ I wonder, as I stare impassively at the people grouped around me.

Cracks form all over my body, radiating out from the wound in my stomach. Small pieces of my Armor of Sand start to crack off my body, falling to the ground below. I stare straight into the eyes of my attackers, refusing to look away from death. I was death once.

In unison, all three stab something into me, two into my chest and one into my upper back. Pain radiates through me and I cough, seeing flecks of blood fly out of my mouth. I fall forward, my hands barely catching me before I hit the ground, and try to breathe through the pain. The shinobi have backed away a little, grouped in front of me once again, closer than they were before. It appears they are waiting for me to die. I will not give them the satisfaction of seeing me die on my knees.

I slowly, painfully, push myself up and shakily get to my feet, a snarl locked on my face, trying not to jostle the sword still sticking out of my stomach. Glancing down, I take stock of my wounds. A few inches above the tip of the sword are the hilts of two weapons that seem to be kunai knives, but hurt far too much to be so. Hot spikes of pain radiate out in every direction from the knives, not just where they rest in my torso. The same goes for my back.

With shaking fingers, I reach up to pull the weapon out of my left side. My fingers close around the hilt and I am about to yank it out when a hand covers mine. "Don't." A soft voice says, lips brushing my ear. I look around to see a girl standing at my side, with long black hair and unusual violet eyes. As I stare at her in shock, she winks at me and disappears. For a moment, I'm not sure if she was even real.

Then the shinobi start to fall. They make a good effort to fight her off, but she is brimming with energy while they have been fighting for an hour. She makes short work of them, then returns to stand in front of me. As I stare into her eyes the last of my energy leaves me and I fall, unconscious before I even reach the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Reality trickles in slowly. My mind drifts, hazy, as I try to remember where I am and what on earth I was doing sleeping. My body feels hot, too hot, and I wonder where the coolness of my Armor of Sand has gone. I feel a soft pressure on my leg, just above the knee, and I open my eyes.

A rough stone ceiling blocks out the night sky, illuminated by a soft yellow glow. I am lying on some kind of cot. My shirt is gone but I can feel the soft fabric of my pants still covering my legs. I try and sit up, only to be knocked back down again by a wave of dizziness and nausea.

I close my eyes, fighting the urge to throw up, and try to sit up again, albeit more slowly. I'm in a small room made entirely of rock. From what I can see, there is no door. Just this cot, shoved up against the wall, a small square table pushed against another wall, and boxes stacked under it.

I look down, trying to find the source of the pressure on my leg and inhale in surprise as I see a girl, my age or maybe slightly younger, kneeling on the floor. Her head, turned towards me, is nestled into her arms, eyes closed. One of her arms is slightly stretched out, her hand gently resting on me.

I take a moment to just look at her. She is beautiful, almost shockingly so. Blue-black hair frames a delicate face with high cheekbones and a small nose. Full red lips are set off by her pale skin and narrow chin. As I study her, she opens her eyes and I am stunned at how familiar their violet color seems.

She smiles and it all comes back to me. The fight, the mystery shinobi, my almost defeat, the girl… saving me. _Why? _I wonder. _Why would a complete stranger risk her life to save me? Granted, her opponents were drained and weak, but there's no way she could have known that. Why would anyone want to save me?_

"Well it's about time you woke up." Her voice, full of mischief, disturbs me from my musings. I blink at her and she continues, "You've been out for almost four days. I didn't think you were going to make it."

I can't believe it. "Four days?" I repeat, feeling a little sick, and not just from the remaining nausea. Four days I have been away from Sunagakure. I can't even imagine what my siblings and advisors are thinking. Possibly that I have been taken again, by the Akatsuki or some other group. There really isn't a shortage of people who want me dead.

I sit up further and attempt to swing my legs out of bed. I need to go, I need to get back as soon as possible. As soon as I move, the girl stands up, taking her hand off me, and I gasp as searing pain suddenly explodes throughout my chest.

"Easy there." The girl murmurs, catching me before I can fall back and laying me gently down. "You aren't going to be able to move for another four days at least. Though, considering you we able to stand with those special kunai in you, it may take only two."

"You don't understand." I tell her urgently. "You don't know who I am. I have responsibilities, I-"

"I know exactly who you are." She cuts me off. "Gaara of the Desert. Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. Youngest son to the late fourth Kazekage and little brother to Tamari and Kankuro. " I open my mouth to interrupt but she keeps talking. "I know you have responsibilities to your people but, even if you could walk it would be useless for you to leave now. A sandstorm has been raging for two days and it doesn't show any sign of stopping anytime soon. Rest, gather your strength. Once you are well enough and the storm stops, you can go back to Suna."

I sigh, not able to argue with her logic, and give up my hopeless struggle to get out of bed. I'm no stranger to pain but this, this is almost more than I can handle. It feels like my insides have been ripped to shreds. I watch as she goes to the table, crouches down, and picks up two of the boxes stored under there. Out of one she picks up a roll of white cloth and out of the other a small tube. Walking back over to me, she smiles and says "It's about time to change your dressings. For the most part your wounds have stopped bleeding, but I like to take a look at them every few hours."

She helps me sit up and it's only then I notice the maze of crisscrossing white bandages that cover my chest. "Hold still." She murmurs, gently unwrapping them. I stay frozen and silent as she works, gritting my teeth against the discomfort of her tugging off the bandages that have started to heal into my wounds. She throws the last one into the growing pile at the side of the cot and puts her face close the right side of my chest, smelling the flesh exposed by the kunai knife. Seeming satisfied, she repeats the action, sniffing the split skin on my left side, my stomach, and my back.

"Oh good," she murmurs to herself "there's no infection. She reaches over and picks up the tube from where she set it on the floor and unscrews the cap. Looking me in the eyes she says "This isn't going to feel great but try not to move around a lot. You're doing a really great job of keeping still so far, just give me a while longer."

She squeezes a pinkish goo out of the tube and into her hand, then quickly but liberally applies a coat of it over all my severed skin. "Don't touch it." She warns, then wipes off her hands on the roll of cloth.

At first, the goo feels cool and nice on my skin, similar to my sand, and I wonder if she was only exaggerating about how uncomfortable it's supposed to be. Then my skin, only the area covered by the goo, starts to heat up. Within moments there's a burning, searing sensation on the cuts and underneath them. Looking down in horror I see the skin on my chest and stomach bubbling and can feel my back doing the same. I lift my hands to wipe off the goo, to stop whatever it's doing to me, only to find her fingers locked around my arms in an iron grip.

"Don't." she says again and I try pulling myself away to no avail. In my weakened condition, I'm not a match for her. Left with no other choice, I call my sand to help me. I don't want to hurt her, not after she saved me, but I have no idea what this strange goo is doing to me and I don't like it. Nothing happens. Panicking, I try calling my sand again but realize I can't feel my chakra.

"What have you done to me?" I hiss, glaring at the girl. Her eyes widen. "Me? Oh, nothing. I just saved your life and am trying to heal you." I continue to glare at her and she sighs. "If you promise not to wipe the ointment off, I'll tell you as much as I can." My expression doesn't change and she rolls her eyes. "I swear, this stuff isn't going to hurt you. Permanently I mean."

With a final hard look at me, she lets my arms go and steps backward, sinking cross-legged to the ground and leaning back against the wall across from me. It's only then I notice what she is wearing, or not wearing rather. She's barefoot and clothed in the smallest pair of black shorts I have ever seen. On top, she wears just a band of what looks like hardened black leather covering her breasts. On her left side, just above her hipbone, a small black mark is carved into her skin. It's a circle with thick, wavy lines coming out from it, like a sun. Inside the circle is a symbol identical to the one on my forehead.

"As I'm sure you guessed, those kunai knives weren't normal." She starts before I can comment on her lack of clothing and the strange mark. "They were covered in a sort of poison that shuts down your chakra points. You discovered this when you tried to use your sand against me just now. Luckily for you, I knew the cure so I was able to administer it before you could die or your chakra points become permanently damaged."

_Well isn't that convenient, _I think to myself, _mysterious and powerful shinobi show up outside Sunagakure, stab me with poisoned kunai, and this girl just happens to be nearby and just happens to know the cure? How stupid does she think I am?_

She must hear the skepticism in my silence because she goes on "I have spent most of my life travelling. You tend to learn a lot when you're on the road, meeting new people, fighting new opponents." She gets a faraway look in her eyes and I wonder what she is thinking. Half to distract myself from the terrible itchy feeling across my upper body and half out of an unusual feeling of curiosity I ask "Are you a medical ninja?"

"No, not really." She replies. "It mostly depends on the type of wound. Yours I could treat because I've treated injuries like it before. I could temporarily bind broken bones and patch up abrasions but, for the most part, anything more complicated than that and you're on your own. The ointment I put on you," she nods towards my bubbling skin "is very special and very rare. The plants used to make it are extremely fragile and hard to get. But its healing properties are truly amazing. As we, well I, speak, it's re-building your muscle and skin tissue. Within, oh about half an hour or so, your cuts will be completely healed with no scars and no damaged tissue. You'll be sore for a few days, but it sure beats the weeks it would have taken for them to naturally close over. The downside, as you've probably realized, it the horrible sensation the ointment leaves while it heals."

I nod slowly, intrigued by this ointment. I've never heard of it before. "Where did you get it?"

"An old friend, one of the only people who knew how to make it gave it to me long ago. I recently discovered that he died not too long ago. This is probably the last of the ointment I will ever possess, unless I can find another ninja as skilled as he was." She looks contemplative, staring at the tube she still holds in her hand.

I'm struck by her strange generosity. Why would she give a complete stranger the last bits of such a precious resource? Especially me. If she knows my name, she probably knows what I have done, the huge amount of people I have killed, just for fun. I don't even know her name. As the last thought enters my head, I ask it aloud.

"My name," she muses "is Sarriette. You can call me Ri."


	3. Chapter 3

"For christsakes Gaara!" Ri's scream jolts me out of my meditation. "Control your goddamn sand!"

"My apologies." I murmur absently, gathering my chakra-infused sand, shaping it into the gourd I usually wear on my back and settling it down on the floor next to me. It's been three days since I woke up on the cot with Ri at my side. Three days since she healed me with that potent ointment.

Without anything to keep my mind busy (I don't sleep and I grew tired of worrying about Suna and constantly mulling over what is looking to be an attempted assassination) I've spent a lot of time just observing Ri. Most of what I know now about her didn't come from conversation, but instead observation and some reading between the lines. Not that she isn't forthcoming with her answers. I just get the feeling she is hiding something from me.

For example, Ri told me that she is seventeen years old and has been a traveler for most of her life. By watching the way she moves and examining her body type I was able to find out so much more. She's one hundred percent muscle, not an ounce of fat to be seen on her. Her legs are strong, confirming she travels on foot a lot. The lack of fat on her as well as the presence of so much muscle means she spends a lot of time training and fighting. She moves silently, as graceful as a cat, so she must be an upper level ninja, possibly a spy. The fact we're in a sealed rock room means that she must have a very strong rock or sand ninjustsu rather than genjustsu since all the walls are very real.

Ri's moods are also all over the place. One minute she'll be happily chatting at me about some mundane thing, the next she'll be absolutely furious for no apparent reason, then she'll get this desolate expression that looks like she may start crying and never stop, and then she'll withdraw completely into herself and become a blank wall. No emotions, no reactions to questions, no nothing. While at first glance she may appear to be just another pretty face, Ri is a very powerful, very dangerous person.

Not that it's any of my business. Everyone has secrets they don't want to share with anyone else, especially people they don't know very well. There are things I don't tell my siblings and I trust them more than anyone else in the world.

Suddenly, Ri gives me a radiant smile and says "You're ready."

"For what?" I ask, puzzled.

She rolls her eyes, something she does a lot. "To go back to Suna. Remember? I told you that once you regained some basic chakra control, we could leave, provided that the sandstorm was over. Well it died down two hours ago and," she gestures at my gourd "you've regained some control over your chakra. I know it may not feel like much, but you've actually healed very quickly. Faster than I would have at any rate."

Now that she mentions it, Ri did say something about when we were leaving. I close my eyes, trying to focus my thoughts. I've felt so… scattered since I woke up after the attack. It's very unlike me and it's not a feeling I care for. I should have been the first one to notice the sandstorm had stopped. Is it a side effect of the poison? I'm about to ask when something soft hits my still bare chest and falls into my lap. Picking it up, I recognize my shirt. Running my fingers down the front, I notice tiny, precise stitching running from the collar down to the slits a little below my waist. That must be where she cut the shirt to pull it off my when I was unconscious. The same stitching binds the cloth split by the knives.

"I didn't know you could sew." I say, standing up and shrugging into my shirt. The healed muscle only protests a little. Much less than yesterday. I could hardly move my upper body then.

"Yea, well," Ri's voice is strained and I glance over to see what she's doing. "there's a lot you don't know about me." She's trying to pull on a pair of tight looking black pants made out of the same material as the band around her chest. The pants aren't exactly participating, however. They're stuck halfway up her thighs. She gives the pants a particularly vicious yank but only succeeds in knocking herself over. I reach out before she can fall, placing my hand on the small of her back and keeping it there until she succeeds in pulling her pants up and regains her balance. Even then my fingers linger on her bare skin, wanting to stay there.

Annoyed, I jerk my hand back. "Why don't you get a pair of pants that actually fit you?" And an actual shirt I add in my head.

"They do fit." She says, bending down to pull on her shoes. "They're just stiff because it's cool in here. Once my body heat warms them up they will become a lot more flexible."

As she stands back up my eyes automatically drop down to her hip. The mark I saw there on first day disappeared when I looked at it for a second time, only a few hours later. The sun remains but the kanji identical to mine is gone. I have fallen into the habit of looking there every so often to see if it has come back. A small part of me thinks I imagined it but I know what I saw.

Reaching past me, Ri pulls out two sheathed swords from under the bed and crosses them over her back. I do the same with my gourd watching as Ri rests her hand on one of the walls and tilts her head like she's listening for something. After a moment she says "Alright, we can go now. But there's a slight problem." I look at her expectantly. "There's a lot of sand built up outside the door. Do you feel strong enough to, I don't know, make a tunnel through it or something?"

I place my hand on the wall next to hers, disturbed that I can't feel the buildup of sand Ri is describing. And how does she know anyway? Is she a sand shinobi? She doesn't dress like one. Or act like one. I concentrate, pulling at my limited chakra, feeling the sand around me. Slowly, so slowly, I push my senses through the wall and gasp. We are buried under tons of sand. This wall must have been facing into the wind at ground level for us to be buried so deep. At my usual power this wouldn't be a problem at all. As I am now however…

I slam my fist into the wall, furious at myself. Why is it taking so long for me heal? I've been doing nothing but resting for almost a week at this point! I reach back, about to drive my fist into the wall again when Ri says quietly "Stop it, Gaara."

I freeze, a snarl on my face, and glare at her out of the corner of my narrowed eyes. Because of my anger and frustration, I know my control is slipping. I can feel the look I get when I'm especially unstable that makes even Tamari and Kankuro back away in terror.

Ri doesn't even flinch. Instead, she moves closer to me, putting herself between me and the wall, and presses herself into my chest, placing her hands on my cheeks. "Look into my eyes, Gaara." She says in a low, soothing voice. I try and pull away, to put some distance between us before the bloodlust building inside me gets too strong but she holds me still. Slowly, I meet her eyes, afraid of the fear and hatred that's sure to be there now that she really knows what a monster I am. Instead I see only kindness and compassion and that shocks me almost right out of the bloodlust.

"That's right." She says comfortingly. "Now I'm going to have you do something that may seem a little strange but bear with me." I nod, a short jerk of my head, and she goes on. "Push whatever chakra you have in a stream through me and into the sand outside the wall, pushing it away or whatever you're going to do with it. Essentially, you're going to use my chakra to preform your usual sand tricks."

"That's never going to work." I growl. "And even if it does, you're not going to have enough chakra for me to do my usual 'sand tricks'."

"Try me." She challenges. "First, close your eyes." I do, still sure this isn't going to work. Even with the slight dip in my chakra since Shakaku was taken out of me I still possess more than almost anyone I know. Training day and night for two and a half years was no joke. Even one of my simplest jutsu's, like the one I'm going to use now, would leave anyone but a powerful Jonin or Kage either dead in the hospital for weeks. "Now take a deep breath. Envision your chakra as a string, like you would with a puppet, and attach it to my my main chakra point. Once you've done that, just use my chakra as you would your own."

I let out a deep breath and follow her instructions, sending my weak chakra through her body and gasp as I feel the energy running through her. She has more chakra flowing inside her than almost anyone I've ever met. At least as much as I do at full power and at most as much as- _is she a jinchuriki? _I wonder, exploring her limits. _No. This all comes from one source. She must have trained every day for almost her whole life, as well has have been born with great power already inside of her. _

Once I've connected with her it's a simple matter to create a tunnel through the sand. As soon as it's done I pull out of her grip and away from her, breaking the connection between us. The rush of her chakra fades and I open my eyes, missing the way her warm body felt pressed against mine. All I want to do right now is to go back to Ri and wrap in her in my arms and never let her go. I've never felt like this before and it's confusing; this need to be with someone else. Usually I much prefer my company over anyone else's but Ri… I want her to be with me always.

_Stop being weak._ I tell myself. _I've barely even met this girl and now I want her as my constant companion? No. This is just gratitude and confusion I feel. Gratitude because she saved my life and confusion because she had no reason to. And even if this… attraction is real, what am I going to do about it? She could never love me. She could never love a monster who used to kill people for fun and revel in the feeling of it. _

Oblivious to my internal battle, Ri places her hand on the wall we had just been standing in front of and it dissolves, the rock and sand falling to the ground in a fine mist in front of the tunnel. She hasn't told me what kind of taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu she uses and I haven't asked _Some kind of earth jutsu? But that doesn't explain how she was able to let me access and control her chakra for my needs. Can she do that with everyone? _

I ask her as much and only get the enigmatic response "No. Only you." She glances around the small room and, before she turns to walk out, I notice my kanji is once again visible within the sun on her skin.

I lift my face into the light, warm breeze, happy to be outside again. I don't like being indoors for more than a few hours so my necessary stay inside the cave really pushed the limits of my patience. Desert nights calm me so I'm content to be in one after my near loss of control a few minutes ago.

"Gaara?" I hear Ri ask from beside me. I glace her way as she says, "If you can, you should do that Armor of Sand thing you had going on before." Though I may not know her history, I have spent enough time with Ri to know what she is feeling, just by reading her body movements and facial expressions. Right now, she's nervous. Very nervous.

I pull my sand over my skin, comforted by its cold, familiar feel. Ri's eyes dart back and forth as if searching for something and her body is stiff with caution. Automatically picking up on the wariness of a fellow ninja, I survey the night, looking for anything that would explain why she feels so spooked. After a fruitless search, I come to the only reasonable conclusion. It's me she's afraid of. I wasn't exactly the picture of sanity back there and she must have been more scared than she showed. Everyone cowers when my demon surfaces. Why would Ri be any different?

But that's another strange thing. She calmed my bloodlust. Nothing (except killing) and no one has ever been able to do that. Not even Tamari and Kankuro. I keep my distance from her as we start walking in the direction of Suna. I don't want to scare her off. In fact, I was actually thinking of asking her to come and live in Suna. It's the least I can do since she saved my life and doesn't have a permanent home of her own.

We reach Suna a few hours before sunrise, enough time for me to enter the village unnoticed and make it seem, to the villagers at least, as though I have been here throughout the sandstorm. Neither of us said a word the entire way here. Though some of her nerves seemed to dissipate as we walked, Ri still seemed as though she was waiting for something bad to happen.

We stop just out of reach of the lights illuminating the entrance and I turn to Ri. "If you want," I begin, feeling a little nervous, "you could make a home in Suna. Or at least stay here for a while until you decide where you would like to travel to next." I feel the ridiculous urge to fidget, worried that she will say no. _I am the Kazekage and she saved my life. _I tell myself. _I'm obligated to offer her sanctuary. It's the polite thing to do. Then why do I feel as if I'm asking her to stay because of personal reasons, not diplomatic ones?_

She hesitates and I feel a crushing disappointment though I take care not to show it. I knew it. She's afraid of me. That explains her behavior all the way here.

"That's an incredibly tempting offer," I wait, hearing the 'but' in her voice. "but there's something I need to take care of first." I nod and turn to leave, stopping at the unexpected feeling of her hand on my arm. When I look back, she stands only inches away from me, close enough that I can feel her cool breath on my face when she says "Have a room ready for me in two weeks." Before I can react she brushes her lips across mine in a soft kiss then turns and sprints into the night, the darkness swallowing her within seconds. I stare after her in shock then sneak into my city, making a mental note to prepare a room for my guest.


	4. Chapter 4

Time has never passed so slowly. Since I arrived safely back in my office in Suna, much to my siblings and council's relief, it feels like I have done nothing but wait for Ri to come back. I told Tamari and Kankuro about the fight and Ri and they're both anxious to meet the girl who saved the life of their Kazekage. I've decided that, while she's here, she can stay in my room. I don't use it and it's the most luxurious room in all of Sunagakure. It's only fitting Ri should stay there.

I try and immerse myself in paperwork but all I can think about is the kiss. Why would she kiss me? From what I've heard, people usually don't kiss people who scare them. But if Ri wasn't scared of me, why was she acting so odd all the way here? When she comes, if she comes, I'll have to ask her. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about her but it seems to be a positive feeling. My instincts are telling me that I can trust her even though I barely know her.

Every night I wait anxiously, hoping that Ri will come early. Finally, the night exactly two weeks from the moment our paths diverged comes. I stand on the roof of my building gazing at the streets of Suna. Baki waits downstairs in the reception area with instructions to escort a dark-haired violet-eyed girl to my room if she shows up.

A warm breeze plays across my face, bringing me the scents of the desert. I lift my face and watch the stars, marveling at their cold unfeelingness. After a few moments, I notice someone standing beside me. I almost jump in surprise. It's Ri.

"When did you get here?" I ask, looking at her profile. She stares at the stars when she answers "Oh, a few minutes ago. I saw you standing here and decided to join you. They're beautiful, aren't they?" She gestures towards the sky. "Yea." I say softly. She's one of the only people who has ever been able to sneak up on me.

Ri breaks the silence. "My grandmother and I used to lay outside for hours on summer nights watching the stars. We would have competitions to see who could spot the most shooting stars." She pauses, then continues. "After she died, I would go outside by myself, pretending she was right next to me, only hidden in the darkness, but it was never the same." Ri bows her head and I slip my fingers into hers, wanting to provide some small measure of comfort. At least, that's what Tamari told me holding hands is supposed to do. I too know what it's like to lose family.

Ri squeezes my hand tightly then turns and gives me a watery smile. "So," she says in a tone of forced brightness, "do you have a place where I can get cleaned up?" It's then I notice the blood covering her. The breeze was blowing her scent away from me, otherwise I surely would have smelled it. Dried blood covers her, matting her hair, speckling her face, and streaking her arms. Rage fills me, hot and fast. Who would dare hurt Ri? And how is she still standing?

"Hey." she says, noticing my expression. "What's wrong?" I lift our intertwined hands, stretching out her arm and ask "Who did this to you?"

She shrugs likes it's not a big deal. "I got attacked by a few rouge ninja."

I narrow my eyes. "Where are they? I'll destroy them for this."

She laughs, a genuine laugh, and pats my cheek with her free hand. "That's really sweet of you, but I already killed them."

"You killed them?" I'm surprised, though I don't know why. Didn't I already decide that she's dangerous?

Ri rolls her eyes. "Well thanks for the vote of confidence. I've been taking care of myself for ten years now. I'm a big girl. You don't have to worry about me. It's not my blood in any case."

I turn before I can make a fool out of myself again and lead her to the stairs that descend directly into my room. "You'll be staying here." I tell her. I point towards a door. "Bathroom is through there and" I point to another door "the rest of the building is through there. You're free to stay as long as you like."

She nods. "Will you wait here while I shower?"

A warm glow fills me on the inside and I am dangerously close to smiling as I say "Of course."

Ri pulls her hand out of mine and walks into the bathroom, pulling off the bag she wears on her back and placing it just inside the door. With one last look at me she closes the door between us and I lean back against my desk. I hear the shower turn on.

No more than two minutes later Tamari and Kankuro burst into my room. "We heard you talking to someone." Tamari starts. "Yea and we thought the girl had arrived." Kankuro finishes. They look around the room and ask "Where is she?"

I nod towards the bathroom. "In there. She wanted to clean up." Tamari and Kankuro nod then walk over to my sofa and sprawl across it. I scowl at them. "What are you doing?"

"We want to meet the girl who saved our baby bro." Kankuro says and Tamari makes a noise of agreement.

"She's tired." I growl. "She was attacked on her way here. You can meet her in the morning." Kankuro opens his mouth to argue when Ri says "That's alright. I would like to meet your siblings now." The three of us look at the bathroom door in surprise. _That's the shortest shower I've ever seen any girl take _I think.

Ri stands in the doorway clothed only in the same shorts and leather band she wore while I was recovering. Her hair falls wetly over her slim shoulders and water droplets sparkle on her arms. She looks like some sort of sea goddess. I look over at my siblings to see Tamari frowning a little at Ri's almost nudity, but its Kankuro's reaction that really annoys me. He's staring openmouthed at Ri, eyes wide and an expression of rapture on his face. I use my sand to slap him on the back of the head and he closes his mouth.

"I'm Sarriette." She says, walking up to my siblings and shaking their hands. "But please, call me Ri. You must be Tamari and Kankuro. It's very nice to meet you."

"So, Ri." Kankuro says swaggering over to me and throwing his arm over my shoulder. "I heard you saved my little brother's life. Thanks. I don't know what we would do without our beloved Lord Kazekage." I give him a murderous glance and Kankuro quickly drops his arm.

"On a slightly more serious note." Tamari says, glaring at us. "Gaara also told us you were attacked on the way here. Can you tell us by whom?"

"Actually, I can't." Ri says frowning. "They were dressed the same way as those who attacked Gaara." Tamari and I share a glance before Ri continues. "There were five of them. After I killed them, I examined the bodies. There was nothing to indicate what village they came from, though two were male and one was female."

"What about the other two?" Kankuro asks her, all traces of joking gone. For the first time since I've known her, Ri blushes.

"I'm not sure. There wasn't a whole lot left of them once I was done." Ri looks at me. "That's why I was covered in blood."

Tamari raises an eyebrow and Kankuro asks incredulously "You were covered in blood? What did you _do _to them?"

Ri sits down on the sofa and pulls her wet hair over her shoulder, braiding it as she talks. "I used my special jutsu on them. Like Gaara has a special affinity to sand, I have a special affinity to metal. Not because of a tailed beast however. It's just something I was naturally born with. If something has the barest, most microscopic trace of metal in it I can manipulate it. Put simply, I can pull metal towards me or push it away."

"I don't see how that's very powerful." Tamari says and I glance her, a little surprised by her tone. Tamari sounded almost petty. I get the feeling my sister doesn't like Ri very much, though I have no idea why.

Ri looks at Tamari. "Think about it this way. I don't need to travel with very many weapons because I can just take those of my enemies. For example, if someone throws a kunai knife or shuriken at me, I can doge it, then use my connection with metal to pull it towards me. I can also repel metal weapons, causing one thrown at me to fly back towards its owner." Braid finished, she tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks at me. "Another similarity I have to Gaara is that I don't need to use hand signs. It's like I have a bubble around me and if metal enters that bubble, I can do with it what I please. I've spent years practicing and refining this skill. My strongest attack, the one I used on the last two, is, of course my most draining. I told you that I can manipulate even the most microscopic amount of metal."

We nod and she asks "Well, what does blood have in it?" Kankuro and Tamari look utterly confused with this change of topic, but I see where she's going with this. "Incredible." I breathe, looking at Ri with newfound respect. "Can you really do that?" Kankuro looks from me to Ri and back again. "Excuse me, but what am I missing? Gaara, why are you looking at her like that?"

"There's iron in blood." I tell him without looking away from Ri's violet eyes.

"Sooo…" Kankuro's voice is laced with sarcasm. I look at Tamari and, if the horror on her face is any indication, she also gets what Ri can do.

"Think about Kankuro." I snap. "Ri can manipulate metal. "There's iron in blood, which is metal." I can tell by his intake of breath that Kankuro finally gets it.

"No way!" he exclaims. "You can kill people using the metal in their blood?"

"Yep." Ri says, an unreadable expression on her face. "I can connect with every tiny piece of metal in someone's bloodstream and simultaneously force every microscopic bit out of their veins at the same time, causing them to explode."

Tamari edges away from Ri and asks nervously "You aren't planning to do that to any of us are you?"

"Ri shakes her head. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. I'm too tired to do much of anything right now."

Kankuro looks disappointed. "So I take it you can't give us a demonstration of any of your metal abilities?"

Ri gives him an amused smile. "Not right now but, if you want, we could fight tomorrow morning. That would give all three of you a pretty clear view of my abilities."

"You're on! C'mon sis," he walks over to Tamari and starts pulling her out of my room. "let Ri rest up for tomorrow. I want her to be wide awake for her defeat." Tamari follows him out without a word. As soon as the door shuts Ri sags forward, almost falling off the couch. I'm in front of her in an instant. "What's wrong?"

She blinks owlishly at me and lets out an enormous yawn. "I'm so tired. That jutsu really takes a lot out of me. Using it twice in one night always makes me really sleepy." She pulls herself up with effort and I support her as she stumbles towards the bed.

"Are you sure you want to fight Kankuro tomorrow? We can always postpone it." I ask worriedly as she pulls back the covers and climbs into my bed.

"I'll be fine by the morning." She says as she lays back and closes her eyes. I turn off the light and make my way quietly towards the door. I'll actually get some paperwork done so I can watch the match between Ri and Kankuro. "Gaara?" Ri mumbles as I'm about to leave. I pause in the doorway. "Yea?" She sighs sleepily. "Thanks. For letting me stay here." I'm about to respond when I hear her breathing deepen and know she's already asleep. Closing the door softly, I head to my office to complete some of my never-ending paperwork.


	5. Chapter 5

As it turns out, I was right in wanting to postpone the fight between Ri and Kankuro. When I can't wake Ri in the morning I call for a medical ninja, just to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with her. The medical ninja gives her a clean bill of health, saying that she's just exhausted and to let her sleep for as long as she wants.

I have Baki bring me some more paperwork to my room so I can be with Ri if she gets up. She sleeps all day, briefly waking a few hours after sunset long enough to eat a few bites of bread and cheese before falling back asleep.

When I come to check on Ri the next morning, I find her already awake and dressed. She's weaving her hair into a tight braid and has on a different top than the usual leather band. It's not like any shirt I have seen before, though it is _slightly_ more modest. "What sort of shirt is that?" I ask and immediately take back my assumption that this shirt is more demure than the other one as Ri turns around.

"It's called a corset." She says. The corset is tight and form fitting, designed to draw the eye to her slender waist and more than present curves. It's black, which seems to be the only color she wears. My eyes linger on her figure as she picks up her curved swords and slings them over her shoulders. "Ready!" She smiles brightly at me and I look away, feeling the barest trace of heat rise in my cheeks.

Wordlessly, I lead her out of my room and down the hall to the elevators. As we descend Ri asks "So where are Kankuro and I going to fight? Somewhere in the desert?"

I shake my head. "We have a large sand arena directly underneath this building for when Temari, Kankuro, or I want to practice a new technique or jutsu in secret. Kankuro has been using this area the most. He's working on some new ideas for his Puppet Master jutsu that I think he wants to try out on you."

We step out of the elevator and walk down a short, brightly lit corridor. We emerge on a balcony that runs all the way around the room, above the sandy ground. Ri vaults over the rail, landing softly on the floor fifteen feet below and I follow. Kankuro and Temari are already standing on the other side of the rectangular arena with five of Kankuro's puppets resting in front of them.

"Well it took you long enough." Kankuro calls out to Ri. "I was starting to think that you were too scared to face me."

Ri rolls her eyes and says "By the time we're done here, you're going to wish I had bowed out."

Kankuro laughs and I follow Ri's eyes up as she stares at the newest arrival on the balcony. "Baki, one of my advisors, also wanted to see your unusual skills. I hope you don't mind."

Ri shakes her head. "Of course not. Is anyone else coming? Or can we get started?"

"No, it's just us now. Temari," I call, barely raising my voice "head up." She says something to Kankuro, then jumps on the balcony on the right side of the room. I am about to lift myself up to the area across from her when Ri takes off her swords and hands them to me. "What are you doing?" I ask, confused. "You need those to fight."

Ri shakes her head. "You want to fully see my abilities right? You won't be able to if I'm already armed." I take her outstretched weapons and use my sand to move me to the terrace.

"Ready when you are." Ri calls to my brother.

Kankuro gives her a cocky grin. "You don't know what you're in for, sweetheart."


	6. Chapter 6

Baki walks over to stand beside me and says "Are you sure the girl knows what she is getting into? Kankuro isn't an easy opponent." I don't answer, choosing instead to gaze and the serene expression on Ri's face. She drops to the ground, sitting cross-legged, and holds her hand out flat. After a moment, a kunai knife lands in it.

I glance over a Kankuro to see him covering the holster on his thigh, the holster that Ri just summoned the knife from. She begins stabbing the kunai into the dirt, twisting the point and scratching the hard packed sand. She appears to be completely ignoring my brother.

Kankuro starts out cautiously, picking up one of his puppets, Crow, and sending poisoned shuriken spinning directly at Ri. She doesn't even look up as they are deflected and sent harmlessly into the ground on either side of her.

Kankuro then picks up Black Ant as well and sends them both flying towards her. The serrated blades hidden in Black Ants' arms stick out at as well as the blade concealed in Crows' abdomen. Both puppets freeze inches away from impaling her through the throat and fly back, landing beside Kankuro once more, courtesy of Ri's metal abilities.

Kankuro smiles and stops holding back. Setting up Salamander as his defense, he raises the two remaining puppets, both of which I've never seen before, and sends all four towards Ri. Barrages of shuriken, exploding kunai, senbon, and smoke bombs from inside the puppets fly at Ri, converging upon her in a cloud of dust and poison gas. I grip the railing, straining to see through the hazy air.

The smoke dissipates and Ri still sits, digging in the dirt. She seems to have moved a few inches to the left but, other than that, nothing has changed. Kankuro stops his attacks and sets the puppets up in a line in front of Salamander. Done digging, Ri stands up and stretches, rolling her neck and shoulders. "Is that all you got?" she calls to Kankuro. "I'm getting bored here." I can't see my brother's face behind Salamander's shield, but I can bet he isn't too happy.

When Kankuro doesn't respond, Ri shrugs. "Okay. I guess it's my turn to go on offensive." She holds her right hand out and Crow steps forward stiffly. It takes another step, and another until it stands halfway between Kankuro and Ri. Crow is shaking, its wooden arms quivering and I realize that Ri used her chakra to pull it forward against Kankuro's will.

With both arms outstretched Ri puts the back of her hands together and violently wrenches them to the sides. There's a loud screeching noise and Crow splits apart, pieces of it raining out across the arena.

"Impossible." Baki murmurs beside me. "Kankuro's puppets are the best made in the village. How can she do that?"

"Well, she's not going to be able to defeat Kankuro's latest trick." Temari's snide voice comes from the other side of Baki. I hadn't noticed her come over to stand beside us. "It's what he's been working on and I helped him tailor it specifically against Ri's abilities. She might be feeling good now, but he will defeat her."

I frown. I'm going to have to talk to Temari about her obvious dislike of Ri but now is not the time. Kankuro has sent the remaining puppets towards her once again, with the exception of Salamander. Instead of standing still like before,Ri races to meet them and takes them apart before any of them can even get close to her. Jumping through the debris she throws the kunai knife she still holds at Salamander. Temari gasps in shock as a hole opens up in the middle of Salamander's shield and sends the kunai straight into Kankuro.

Suddenly, Salamander explodes, sending its metal shield flying straight up and wooden shrapnel flying towards Ri. The wood must have no traces of metal in it because Ri is forced to dodge, jumping backwards and landing near where she started. Facing her where Salamander once stood are two puppet Kankuros, one with a kunai knife sticking out of its stomach.

Ri tilts her head, studying the twin puppets, before a delighted expression crosses her face. "Oh, that's good." She says. "That's very good. I underestimated you Kankuro."

"This is it." Temari hisses.

"There are two puppets." Ri is saying. "One with you safely ensconced inside and the other as a distractor. Both puppets are made entirely of wood so I cannot rip them apart like I could the others. I'm willing to bet any weapons coming out of them will be wood as well. Normally, since I can sense the iron in blood, this wouldn't be an issue for me, but there is blood in both puppets so I cannot tell which one is really you." She frowns. "You seem to be relying on the assumption that I won't use my special jutsu which is a very dangerous assumption. Luckily for you, I'm feeling indulgent today." Two kunai fly into her hands. "Let's see what you got."

Without further ado, the twin Kankuro's release a volley of sharpened wooden stakes, following closely behind them. Ri jumps into the air, evading most of the wooden missiles and using the kunai to deflect the ones she can't dodge. Kankuro doesn't let her rest for a minute, launching wooden attack after wooden attack. Since she can't use her ninjutsu directly against the puppets or missiles, Ri demonstrates a surprising aptitude for taijutsu as she fights with just kunai.

At first, she tries to destroy the puppets by throwing the kunai at them put quickly realizes this is pointless as they just bounce off. After almost five minutes of relentless close combat, the opponents separate, ending up on opposite sides of the arena. The puppets stand motionless but Ri breathes heavily, sweat rolling down her face and neck.

In unison, both Kankuros throw a wooden stake directly at Ri. Too tired to dodge, she puts both hands up to keep the stakes from lodging into her shoulders. Instead, they sink into her palms. Blood drips down the stakes from the deep cuts in her hands, dripping onto the floor. Temari cheers and Baki gives a small smile but I keep my eyes fixed on Ri. This isn't over. She has something up her sleeve. I know there's more to her skills than just repelling metal weapons.

In a smooth movement Ri yanks both stakes out, tosses them aside, and buries her bloody hands into the dirt she had loosened up in the beginning of the fight. Thick chains with glowing blue strands embedded in them burst out of the ground at the puppet Kankuros feet, wrapping around both of their ankles and surging up their bodies until they are completely trapped, unable to move even an inch. I can see the puppets struggling but the chains are too strong. The muscles on Ri's right arm tense and one of the Kankuros explodes into thousands of tiny splinters as the chain contracts suddenly. The wood of the other puppet, the one that must hold Kankuro, groans at the chain around it tightens as well. Before it can explode, Ri removes her hands from the dirt and stands.

She walks to the trapped puppet, places her still bleeding hand on its face, and runs her bloody palm down its chest and over both legs. Stepping away, she watches as the wood splits, crumbling to the ground, so the chain now holds a very surprised, very vulnerable Kankuro.

"I believe I win." She says dryly and Kankuro bursts into laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

"How did you know which one was me?" Kankuro asks as the chain around him sinks back into the ground. "And why did the chains have blue streaks?"

I use my sand to lower myself to the ground and walk over to them, curious as to the answers to those questions myself. I hear Baki and Temari follow me.

Ri waits for us to reach her and Kankuro before she starts talking. "The idea to put blood inside one of the puppets was a very good one and would have seriously confused me if we had fought a year ago. Recently I have been working on perfecting my special jutsu, trying to immobilize or knock out my opponents instead of killing them and using less chakra to do so. Because of this I have spent a lot of time exploring my connection with iron in the bloodstream. I knew which one was you because one of the puppets had a greater concentration of iron inside of it than the other, which meant that it must be the real one. As for the chains," she rubs the bottom of her shoe on the ground, "there is very little natural metal in this sand. To strengthen the chains I imbued them with my chakra, which were the blue streaks you saw. My blood, or rather the iron in it, also helped to keep the chains from bending or breaking. Using wooden weapons was also an excellent idea. You should create more if we ever fight again."

"We will definitely have another match." Kankuro says, a competitive glint in his eyes. "We will fight once a week until I win."

Ri smiles. "That sounds alright with me."

Hope spreads inside my chest. It doesn't look like Kankuro is going to be able to defeat Ri anytime soon so this hopefully means she will stay for a while.

"Lord Kazekage!" the voice comes from above us, from one of the sand shinobi that's supposed to be making sure that no one comes down here.

"Yes?" I say, looking up at him.

"We have urgent news from Konaha. They have reason to suspect The Village Hidden in the Mist is planning an attack against us. They have sent Nara Shikamaru with a message."

Temari squeals with delight at the prospect of seeing Shikamaru and leaps onto the balcony, racing to the elevator. I sigh quietly. I was hoping to spend some time with Ri, but it looks like I am going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks. I turn to say something to Ri but find her deep in a conversation about chakra levels and potential puppet ideas with Kankuro and Baki. With a mental shrug, I follow my sister to elevators, mentally preparing myself for the tedious discussions soon to follow.

Almost fourteen hours later I step out of the council meeting room and walk slowly to the stairs that will take me to the top floor where my room is. If it were possible for me to get stress headaches, I would surely have one now. We hadn't even reached a conclusion on whether we should take the information Shikamaru brought seriously. Shikamaru himself isn't allowed in the meetings since he is from another village, but I, as Kazekage, am allowed to tell him all that transpires. He thinks we should take the threat seriously, which is proof enough for me, but the rest of the council doesn't know if we should waste our energy on a threat that might or might not be there.

Shaking my head to get rid of annoying council thoughts, I step into my room, wanting to see if Ri is still awake. The lights are off, but the bed is empty. I switch the lights on and notice the door leading to the roof is cracked open.

Ri lays flat on her back on the roof, staring at the stars. Her hands, bandaged, lay folded across her stomach. The night is cold, colder than usual, but she lays in just small shorts and the leather band.

"Aren't you cold?" I ask, sitting down beside her.

"Yes." She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. I'm confused. If she's cold, why doesn't she just put on actual clothes?

"Why indeed." She murmurs and I realize I spoke that last thought out loud. I think I've offended her until she says "I haven't been able to feel anything for the longest time. No emotions, no physical sensations, nothing." She smiles. "But now I can feel, and I want to experience every feeling. Even the cold."

So it seems she and I are back to the half-answers that just raise more questions. I frown at her and she looks at me guiltily. "I'm sorry. That really didn't tell you anything." I think she's going to elaborate or clarify her first statement, but she remains silent, contemplative.

A thought strikes me. Maybe I'm not being fair. As attached as I feel to Ri, we have known each other for less than a month and I'm expecting her to tell me her life story without revealing any of mine. While she knows my name and title, I doubt she knows everything about me. Maybe I should open up first. Years of hiding my feelings and emotions make me wary of trusting someone with all my insecurities. After all, everyone I completely trust ends up betraying me. I don't even fully trust my siblings not to turn on me.

If there was someone, anyone, who I would place that trust in, it would be Ri. I can't explain why. Hesitantly at first, but with more confidence, I begin to tell her of my childhood. I want her to know exactly what kind of a monster she is dealing with. If there is hope for any sort of relationship between us, there can be no secrets, not on my part.

At some point throughout my narrative, Ri sits up and curls up against my side, resting her head on my shoulder. Almost of its own accord, my arm loops around her waist, pressing her closer to me. My sand turns into a low wall, protecting Ri from the worst of the wind. I talk more than I ever have before while Ri leans into me, tracing shapes lightly over my knee. I finish my tale as the sun begins to brighten the horizon and we sit in silence.

"Oh Gaara." Ri finally says. Throughout my story, when describing all the people I killed in such horrible ways, I was afraid she would look at me with revulsion and anger, like everyone else, but I wanted her to know everything. She lifts her head and I look down, away from her face, steeling myself and tightening my arm around her to remember how she felt beside me. Surely she is going to leave me now. No one could love such a cold-blooded killer.

I feel her cool finger under my chin, lifting my head so she can look into my eyes. Instead of the loathing I expected so see, there's a look of such tenderness and compassion that I almost cry out.

"You have suffered so much." Ri murmurs. I decide that a lightening of mood is in order. "Yeah, and I'm about to suffer some more. I have meetings with the council all day today.

She laughs and uses her shoulder to nudge mine. "Oh you poor dear." I smile at her, unbelievably happy that she hasn't run away screaming, and Ri's eyes widen and her jaw drops.

"What?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

"Did you…" her tone is disbelieving. "Did you just smile?" Huh. I guess I did. Ri is the only person who makes me want to smile. I smile again, enjoying the shock on her face. The sun is almost fully up and I need to get back to discussing the potential invasion that seems so unimportant right now.

"I have to go. Would you like to come to the meeting?" I ask.

Ri shakes her head emphatically. "No way. I hate meetings. I'm going to go practice some techniques I've been wanting to try out." She stands and stretches, then disappears down the steps into my room. By the time I follow her down she is already dressed in pants and a corset. We walk to the meeting rooms together and up to Shikamaru who stands in front of the door looking incredibly bored.

He gives Ri a once over, then looks at me. "Where's Temari?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure. Shouldn't you know? You're her boyfriend."

Shikamaru scowls at me. "I only saw her briefly yesterday. I was hoping she would be coming to the council meeting."

"She's not interested in politics." I say, shaking my head. "She never attends the meetings. She prefers to go out on missions with the other shinobi and Kankuro."

"I can help you look for her if you like." Ri offers. "I'm at a bit of a loose end myself and could do with some exercise."

"What a drag." Shikamaru moans. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to go looking for her. I'll take you up on your offer to help. If you're ready, let's go."

Ri gives me a kiss on the cheek, then turns and continues down the hall towards the stairs with Shikamaru in tow. "Where do you think Temari will be?" I hear him ask. "No idea." Is Ri's sunny reply.

"What a drag."


	8. Chapter 8

As the days pass, I settle into a rhythm. Days are spent in council meetings and nights are spent talking on the roof with Ri. I was right with my initial hunch that she would open up to me if I opened up first. She tells me more and more about her past every night.

Her mother died shortly after Ri was born. She has an older brother whom she used to be close to but they started drifting apart soon after the death of their grandparents, when Ri was 7. She and her brother spent four years training with Jonin from different villages to master their separate techniques. She doesn't know where her brother is now but she doesn't want to see him.

Though I fully participate in the council meetings, I impatiently await the end of each meeting so I can spend the evening with Ri. I would have thought that she would be tired, spending all night talking to me, but she says that she doesn't need a lot of sleep. One or two hours every few days is good enough. More preoccupied with her past, I haven't asked her what she does all day. Training maybe.

It's been three weeks since Shikamaru arrived. He left two weeks ago, much to the dismay of Temari who isn't speaking to me at the moment. I talked to her about her dislike of Ri. Apparently, Temari thinks it's a mistake to trust Ri. She thinks Ri is hiding something and that all the shinobi as well as Kankuro, Baki, and I are blinded because of her beauty. It made me furious to hear my sister talk about Ri this way. I was so angry, I had almost started yelling at Temari.

At least my other sibling is getting along with Ri. They have had two more fights since his first defeat. I wasn't present for either but I heard that Ri had absolutely crushed Kankuro. Just hearing about how easily she defeated my brother makes me want to try and fight her myself and see how she fares against my ultimate defense. Nothing fatal of course, but just who see who can immobilize who first.

Since the meetings finished early today for the first time since their beginning, I'm looking for Ri. Now would be as good a time as any to have our match. "Where is Ri?" I ask one of the ninja I meet while walking down a hall.

"Probably in Kankuro's workshop, Lord Kazekage." Is the reply. "She spends every day there with him."

Just like that, my mood plummets. Suddenly, I'm furious though I have no idea why. What else would Ri be doing all day? She probably gets bored and it's not like Kankuro has been sent on any missions recently. I may have to rectify that. I'm sure there's a dangerous mission he can go on. And Temari can go with him.

I stalk down to my brother's workshop where all his puppets, completed or not, are stored. Barging in I find Kankuro bent over something at his table. Ri sits cross-legged on top of the small bed in the corner where Kankuro sometimes sleeps when he can't bear to be away from his latest creation. Her eyes are closed and her body is relaxed. Kankuro looks up at me, then motions for me to keep quiet.

"It's okay." Ri says, opening her eyes. "I'm done anyway."

"What were you doing?" I ask, curious despite of my annoyance.

"Working on my control of metal in the bloodstream." She gestures towards Kankuro. "He's an excellent subject because he sits at that table for hours and hardly moves. I just need to be able to manipulate the iron subtly instead of with my usual explosiveness. Meditation helps."

"Can't you meditate somewhere else?" I ask.

She raises her eyebrows at me and Kankuro gives me an amused glance. "What?" I growl.

"Nothing." They say at the same time, which only serves to annoy me further.

"Hey." Ri says gently, getting up and walking over to me. "What do you need? I thought you would still be in a council meeting." She puts her hands on either side of my face and just that small contact calms me down instantly.

"We got over early today. I was wondering if you wanted to fight against me." Ri stares at me in surprise, then the smile I love so much brightens the entire room.

"I've actually been wanting to for a while. I mean," she hooks her thumbs into the waistband of her pants "only if you're ready to lose though."

Kankuro stands up. "Well what are we waiting for? I can't wait to see this."

Ri and I face each other across the arena. Kankuro, our only spectator, sits on the balcony with his legs hanging over the edge. I already explained that the objective of this match was to immobilize your opponent without killing them. Ri and I mirror each other. Both of us have our arms crossed, standing straight with our feet spread slightly apart for maximum balance. She has her swords and I have my special sand.

Unlike Kankuro, I do not start out easy on Ri. The sand under my feet is incredibly hard packed which makes it necessary for me to use more chakra than I would like to manipulate it. Whatever problems it poses for me, however, the density of the sand must make it more difficult for Ri to use her metal jutsu as well. It hampers her more than me.

I start with a sand drizzle, watching as she dodges every shot. Kankuro must have some shuriken on him because they suddenly appear in Ri's hands. She flings them at me but my sand intervenes before they can even get close. I send my sand out in tendrils, trying to just wrap one around her but she's fast and flexible. Even more so than when I saw her fight Kankuro. Either she has improved in the last three weeks or she was holding back on my brother.

I send three perfectly timed tendrils after her and she dodges two, but the third one wraps around her right wrist. Before I can celebrate my success, however, she pulls out one of her swords with her left hand and slices through my sand. From the area her sword touches to what's wrapped around her wrist, my sand falls to the ground and stays there. I stare at my sand in shock, then look at her sword. That has never happened before. What on earth is that sword made out of?

She pulls out her other sword and I examine them carefully, trying to figure out what they are. They are made out of an iridescent, smoky gray metal, with glowing white streaks running through them. They must be imbued with her chakra, though I have no idea how she managed to immobilize my special sand with it.

I sent more sand after her but instead of dodging like she did before, she cuts through it and I pull my sand back as I realize that whatever her swords touch becomes useless. I draw my sand back to me, turning it into my Shield of Sand, and quickly made my third eye.

Ri still stands across the arena from me but she has put away her swords. They must cost a great deal of chakra to use, especially if they cancel out my chakra. I hope she can reverse whatever she has done to my sand. Suddenly, she runs at me, punching my shield and jumping back before the sand spikes can impale her. Her punch sends a shock through my defense. _She must have concentrated and released some of her chakra in that strike _I realize. _Similar to the attacks of the Hokage of the Leaf and her pink-haired apprentice. Is there no end to Ri's abilities?_

Ri backs off and tilts her head, studying my defense. She rushes forward, dodging and jumping over the spikes to repeatedly strike my outer shell. While watching her admirable but futile attempts to break through I hear a soft voice whisper in my ear "Boo."

I whip my head to the side and see Ri standing next to me. Startled, I burst out of my shield, sealing it immediately after to me to keep Ri locked inside. The Ri that was attacking my shield disappears in a puff of smoke and I realize it was a shadow clone. It must have been a pretty strong shadow clone to be able to use as much chakra as it did to distract me. Ri must be almost drained, a fact I take advantage of as I throw caution to the wind and break down the arena floor, building it up and covering the shield that traps Ri in an even thicker blanket.

Shaking from shock as well as the sudden drop in my chakra, I harden the sand into an impenetrable layer. She must have breached my defense from underground. I had been too confident in thinking she would not be able to break through the hard sand. It's a mistake I won't make again. The arena falls silent and Kankuro asks "Where is she?"

I nod towards the bubble of sand where I used to be. "Inside." Kankuro gapes at me.

"No way. She got past your ultimate defense?"

"So it seems. She won't be able to get out of it however." As I say that, there's an ominous cracking sound. The sand shakes, grains of it coming loose. A chunk of it explodes out and Ri follows it, landing on her knees. Her hands sink into the ground and I remember her chains just in time to jump away as they reach up from where I had just been standing. They fly towards me and I call my sand to my defense. Now I'm the one jumping and dodging as she attacks from a standstill. I'm more tired than I should be after using the jutsu's I have. I also have less sand than usual because some of lies useless on the floor.

Neither of us gains an advantage and both of our attacks become weaker and weaker as the minutes trickle by. I decide to try one last attack that will use the rest of my chakra but could ensure my victory. While still dodging her chains I gather as much sand as I can, packing it together and funneling it underground, hoping Ri is too preoccupied to notice.

At the same moment my sand rises out of the ground to immobilize Ri, a third chain surges out of the ground behind me and wraps around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides. With my last drop of strength, my sand closes in around Ri, trapping her at the same time. We both stop, breathing hard, sweat dripping into our eyes. I can't believe it. Ri and I just fought to standstill. We are evenly matched.

I begin to laugh and hear Ri join in. Pride fills me. Pride that the girl I love is just as powerful as I am. I can't deny it anymore. I am utterly and completely in love with Ri. I make the sand release Ri and she unwraps the chain from around me. I start towards her but stop as Kankuro appears beside her. He pulls Ri from where she still kneels on the ground and looks at her with pure amazement and adoration. "Did you…" he starts "Did you just fight my brother to a standstill?" she nods, exhausted. "I can't believe it!" Kankuro exclaims. "You've been holding back on me this entire time? Marry me woman!"

Ri laughs. "Of course. Who can resist such a smooth talker?" Kankuro puts his hands around her waist and starts waltzing with her across the floor.

Red spots fill my vision. It's a good thing I have barely and chakra left because, if I were at full strength, I would have crushed my brother. How dare he talk to her with such affection? How dare he put his hands on her? On _my _Ri!

_Ah, but she's not mine. _I remind myself. _It's probably better if she forms a relationship with Kankuro. I'll only end up hurting her. _Almost blind with rage I leap up to the balcony and take the elevator straight up to my floor. A few ninja wait in the hallway outside my room to talk to me but turn pale with fear as they see my face. Without me having to say anything they vanish and I storm into my room. Picking up a small potted plant near me I fling it into the wall, relishing the sound of glass breaking. I haven't felt this out of control since Shukaku was taken out of me. That bloodlust that has been absent since Ri's arrival to Suna fills me and I curse at my weakness. If I have no chakra, how can I kill?


	9. Chapter 9

"Gaara?" a cautious voice asks from the doorway. It's Ri.

"What?" I snarl, turning to face her. She walks over to the desk pushed up against the wall and sits on top of it. Her face is pale and she's trembling a little.

"Are you scared of me?" I demand. It's a question I've wanted to ask her for a long time but have been too afraid to do so.

Ri's eyes study me cautiously. "Of course not. I'm just tired. Why are you so angry? It's not because we tied is it?"

I snort derisively. "I couldn't care less about that."

She looks at me with confusion written clearly across her face. After a moment it fades and is replaced by a look of understanding. "Oh, I see." She says. "You're angry that I've been spending so much time with Kankuro.

I'm annoyed that she can read me so easily. My voice cracks out like a whip. "Why don't you go back to him? Go and dance around. Marry him. You'd be safer with Kankuro."  
Ri nods slowly. "You're right. I would be safer with Kankuro." My heart plummets but she isn't finished speaking. "But I don't love Kankuro." She looks me squarely in the eyes. "I love you, Gaara."

With three quick strides I'm in front of her perch on top of my desk, my face inches from hers. She wraps her legs around my waist and I rest my hands on her thighs. She tilts her chin up, so close that her lips brush mine as she says "Remove the Armor of Sand." As soon as I comply she presses her lips to mine in a hot, desperate kiss. It's nothing like the fleeting one we shared in the desert. Heat fills me, starting from where our lips touch and spreading through every vein.

I can feel my control, already loosened from my earlier rage, sliding further. Desire grips me, a want so powerful it actually scares me a little. Ri slips her hands under my shirt and runs her cool, smooth hands across my back, tilting her chin to deepen the kiss. I feel hot, too hot without the cool sand coating my skin, and dangerous. Ri slips her tongue into my mouth and a searing explosion rocks through me. Whatever little control I had over myself vanishes and I dig my fingers into her thighs, nails ripping through the thin fabric covering them and scratching bloody furrows into her skin.

Horrified, I pull back. I avoid her gaze, not wanting to see the hurt and anger her eyes probably hold. "See?" I murmur, trying to untangle myself from her. "I'm a monster. I'm not good for you."

"Silly sand boy." Ri's voice is full of mischief. Shocked, I look at her. Instead of the injured and disappointed look I expected, her eyes blaze with desire. Without a second thought I bring my lips back to hers.

Without breaking the kiss I pick up Ri and carry her to my bed, setting her gently down and covering her body with my own. She moves her lips from mine and feathers gentle kisses along my jaw and down my neck. I groan and pull her face back to mine.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. I distance myself from Ri, standing and moving away so I can think clearly and say "Come in."

"Lord Kazekage." It's Baki. "We have received news that the Village Hidden in the Mist has called off their invasion. It seems that Naruto Uzumaki found out about their plan and said he would fight on the side of the Sand. They do not wish to go up against Naruto and the Nine-tails as well as you, Lord Gaara."

"Excellent." I tell him. "Thank you for this news Baki. We owe Naruto our gratitude." Baki nods and shuts the door as he leaves. I turn to look at Ri, expecting her to be happy that we have avoided war, but instead she looks worried and distant. "What's wrong?"

She seems to shake herself and gives me a small smile. "Nothing. I'm just tired." She crawls under the covers and then motions for me to join her. "I know you don't sleep, but would you just lay with me?" I get in beside her and she snuggles up against me, putting her head on my chest and looping one arm around my waist.

"How long do you plan to sleep this time?" I ask. "Because as much as I would like to, I don't think I can lay here for a full day and night."

Ri gives a sleepy giggle. "I should be fine in five hours or so. I really over taxed myself last time."

A new thought strikes me. "How far away from Suna were you when you were attacked?"

She frowns, thinking. "About four days and nights if I ran without stopping. Which I did because I really hate being covered in blood. It's really not good for my complexion."

I stare at her. "You used up all your chakra, then ran for four days and nights, just so you could have a shower? Why didn't you just find some water?"

She raises her eyebrows at me. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there isn't a whole lot of water in the desert. Plus, I didn't want to rinse off in an oasis because I didn't want to ruin a perfectly good source of water."

"You're ridiculous." I tell her, stroking her hair. "But I love you for it. Sweet dreams." She tightens her arm around me, already asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

True to her word, Ri wakes up almost exactly five hours later, at ten at night. With a sleepy kiss, she climbs over me, grabs a clean corset and an un-ripped pair of pants from the dresser where she keeps her clothes, and heads into the bathroom for a shower. Once she's done I take one as well.

After I finish I step into my room and find it empty though the door to the roof is wide open. I climb the stairs quietly after getting something from the false bottom in drawer of my desk and hear singing when I emerge into the night air. "What are you singing?" I ask Ri as I walk up behind her.

She blushes lightly and says "Just a song that I heard that reminds me of you."

"Can you sing it for me?"

I think she's going to refuse but she clears her throat and starts

"You are the hole in my head

You are the space in my bed

You are the silence in-between

What I thought and what I said

You are the nighttime fear

You are the morning when it's clear

When it's over you'll start

You're my head

You're my heart"

Ri's voice is high and sweet and I smile at her. "That was beautiful." She nods and looks away, a pained look on her face. Something is bothering her. She glances back at me with a strange expression. It's a mixture between unwillingness and determination.

"Gaara." She falters, then starts again. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Me first." I interrupt. I have to tell her before I lose my nerve. I pull out the ring I had grabbed before I came up. "Sarriette. Ri. I love you and I'm relatively sure you feel the same way about me." I hold up the ring. "This ring belonged to my mother. I want to give it to you, as well as a promise. I promise that, no matter what happens between us, I will always love you, protect you, and, if you allow it, will always be by your side." Provided my duties as Kazekage allow it I amend in my head.

I slip the ring onto the ring finger of her right hand. When I meet her eyes, I'm surprised to find they're filled with tears. "I would never leave you willingly," she says in a trembling voice, "but-"

"Well isn't this adorable." A snide, sarcastic voice says from my left. I freeze, than turn my head slowly. A boy stands with his face partly hidden in the shadows. He's a painfully thin, a fact obvious through his loose shirt and baggy pants. His hair is a snowy white color with silvery streaks mixed in. He steps forward, into a pool of light, and I frown at the familiarity of his features. I feel like I have seen him before, though I'm not sure where.

"Who are you?" I demand, shifting slightly so I'm in a better position to defend Ri. He chuckles. "My little sister didn't tell her true love about her twin brother?" He places a hand dramatically over his heart "I'm hurt Kara." _Kara? _I think. _Who's Kara? _It's then I notice his eyes. Violet. Exactly like Ri's.

"Izo." Ri says, stepping forward. "Why are you here? I was handling this perfectly well on my own." I glance at her face, concerned by her tone. Her voice is completely flat. Empty, with no emotions at all. Her face is the same, but it's the lack of emotion in her eyes that really worries me. Her beautiful violet eyes, usually so open and expressive, are blank. It's like she's not really a person anymore, just a body operating on autopilot. And the boy, he said that he was her twin brother? While Ri mentioned she has a brother, she never said he was her twin. Looking at both of their faces, however, I can see the resemblance. In fact, they could almost be the same person if the boy gained some muscle and dyed his hair black.

"Kara, Kara, Kara." He replies shaking his head. "You are in some deep trouble." It's then I realize that he's calling Ri Kara. I'm so confused. "I can't cover for you forever." The boy is saying. "We need to leave now." He frowns. "And we need to have some words, little sister. I didn't remember killing my disciples being part of the plan. It's so hard to find new ones these days." Ri/Kara shrugs but doesn't answer.

"Plan?" I ask. "What plan?"

Surprise crosses the boy's, Izo's, face. "You didn't tell him?"

"I didn't feel the need to." Ri/Kara says.

Izo claps his hands in delight and turns to me. "Gaara of the Desert, my dear sister was sent here to assassinate you. She and I are both master assassins, skilled in the art of ending lives. Her mission was simple; kill the Kazekage of the sand. But," he sighs dramatically "she is quite a vicious little thing. Instead of just letting you die in the desert, she saved you and made you fall in love with her, just so the killing blow would be so much sweeter. For her anyway." He places his hand over his heart. "Tragic really."

"Is this true?" I ask, turning to her. Ri/Kara doesn't even look at me, choosing instead to examine her nails.

"Brother." She says, sounding completely and utterly bored. "I tire of your theatrics. You've already ruined my mission. We should go."

Izo bows mockingly. "As you wish Kara."

Ri/Kara holds out her hand and her swords fly into it. I'm shocked at this new information, but I don't want her to go. I can't believe she would do this to me. Her brother must be blackmailing her, holding something over her so she has to go with him.

"Ri." I plead, grabbing her wrist as she starts towards Izo. "Don't go. Please. We can work this out."

She pulls out of my grasp but turns to face me and I almost flinch. Instead of the affection, playfulness, and acceptance I got so used to seeing in her eyes, there is only a void. For a moment, for one fleeting instant, I think I see a flash of pain and sadness, but it's gone as quickly as it came.

"Goodbye." She says. She walks towards her brother and passes him without a word. She vaults off the roof, disappearing into the darkness. Izo turns to follow her.

"She's going to come back." I tell him. "As soon as she finds a way around whatever threat you're holding over her head."

Izo gives a low laugh, then turns to me once again. His face is twisted in disgust and contempt. "Kara really did a number on you, didn't she?" He spits. "Or you're just a weak and pathetic fool. She doesn't love you. She **can't** love you. She can't feel anything. There are no emotions inside her, just emptiness. That's what makes her so good at her job. Though," he gives me a cruel smile "she is an excellent actress. You're not the first man she manipulated into falling in love with her and you certainly won't be the last." He steps forward and I can see traces of madness in his eyes. "She strung you along and you fell right into her trap."

I can't take this anymore. My sand whips out, covering him within seconds. "Sand Coffin." I murmur, squeezing my hand into a fist, but nothing happens. My sand falls to the ground, revealing a chortling Izo.

"You're going to have to try harder than that to kill me." He says, but vanishes off the roof before I can attack again.

Numbly, I walk down to my room, my legs giving out at the bottom of the stairs. Despair washes over me, crippling me. Another betrayal. Another name to add to the ever-growing list of people who pretend to care about me but actually want me dead.

Suddenly furious, I lurch to my feet and slam my fist into the wall. Cracks stretch out from where my fist made contact with the hardened sand. With a yell, I punch the wall again and again, forming more cracks.

A hand grabs my elbow, stopping me from hitting the wall again. It's Kankuro. Temari stands close behind him. Both look at me with worried expressions.

"What's wrong Gaara?" Temari asks.

Kankuro looks around my room. "And where's Ri?"

I laugh humorlessly and yank my arm away from Kankuro. "She's gone." I tell them. "She left with her brother. Her name isn't even Ri."

"What?" Kankuro looks at me, confused. "What brother? I think you need to start from the begining."

"She has a twin brother named Izo. Her name is Kara. They are assassins. She was sent to kill me. She lied about everything. Even her name." My anger is gone just as quickly as it came, replaced with a deep, intense hurt. "If you even think about saying I told you so," I snarl at Temari, "I swear on our mother I will kill you."

"I wasn't going to." Temari says softly. She wraps her arms around me. "I'm so sorry." She whispers in my ear. Kankuro looks stunned.

"C'mon." she says to him. "Let's leave Gaara alone." They walk out, instructing Baki to make sure that I'm not disturbed by anyone before closing the door behind them.

Alone again, I shut my eyes and sink to the ground. With every beat of my shattering heart, her name repeats through my mind. Ri, Ri, Ri, Ri. Even if it isn't her real name, it's the name of the girl I fell in love with. The girl I spend hours talking to while looking at the stars. The girl who knows me better than anyone. It hurts too much to think about that girl, so I stop. She is nothing to me anymore.

* * *

I just want to say that the above lyrics are not mine. They are from a song called No Light by Florence and the Machine. That is all.


	11. Chapter 11

Hours turn into days. Days into weeks. Weeks into months. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about her. I want to hate her for the pain she is causing me, but I can't. She has done no less than my father and uncle.

Everything reminds me of her. I haven't been to my room or to the roof since the she left, three months ago. By day I throw myself into my work, trying to show the council and my siblings that I'm just fine. I know that Temari and Kankuro are not fooled. I spend my nights wandering the desert, hoping she'll come back. Knowing she won't. Feeling ashamed at my weakness.

The Village Hidden in the Mist has been quiet, unusually so. Generally, after a village has been discovered planning a war, they send out dignitaries and diplomats to smooth the whole thing over. Not so in this case.

I contemplate this situation idly, trying to keep the ever-present thoughts of Ri at bay while walking my usual path around Suna. While climbing up the side of a dune I become aware of a soft light glowing in a sheltered valley in the sand. When I reach the top, I realize it's a fire. Halting, I survey the five men grouped around it. I don't recognize four of them but the white hair on the fifth is very familiar. My lips pull back in a snarl and I glare at Izo with hate.

The last time we met, he said I would have to try harder to kill him. Well, here he sits, in the sand. I am my strongest in the desert. He's practically begging me to kill him. I start down the dune, ready to crush him. There will be no mercy, not in his case.

Before I can even take a step, hands grab my shoulders and a voice hisses in my ear "Don't move." I call the sand around me to rise up and kill my attacker but I can't feel my chakra. Even my special sand lays useless in my gourd. Since I can't use my usual defense I try and twist out of my attackers' grip, but I'm paralyzed.

Of their own accord, my legs start moving, turning me around and carrying me forward until Izo and his five companions are out of sight. We walk for twenty minutes, away from the men and parallel to the outer wall of Suna. We stop and a painfully familiar yet foreign voice says "I'm going to let you go. Please don't attack me." Awareness flows through my limbs and flex my fingers, just to prove that I am indeed in control of myself again.

Ri walks around from behind me and stops, turning to face me from a few feet away. She looks just like the day she left, except she's wearing a shirt I haven't seen before. Instead of a corset or leather band, she wears a tight, sleeveless shirt with a small collar that climbs halfway up her neck. I clamp down on the rush of excitement I feel at seeing her and ask in a voice as emotionless as hers "What are you doing here?"

"My brother is here. Where he goes, I follow." Almost against my will I glance down at her right hand, searching for the ring I gave her. I've hoped that she would keep wearing it, that if I ever saw her again I would look for it as proof that she really did love me. It seems that was a vain hope. Her finger is bare.

I cross my arms, mirroring her stance and ask "Why did you bring me here? And what did you do to me?"

Something that may have been the ghost of a smile crosses her face. "I have not been idle these past months. Without any… distractions, I quickly mastered controlling iron in the blood to immobilize instead of kill. I noticed you were going to attack my brother. A very unwise decision, especially among his friends, one of which can sense chakra levels. Yours is quite strong and would have given you away before you could even attack, so I cut your chakra flow and brought you out of his range." She frowns. "You cannot defeat them with brute force."

"Why do you even care?" I snap. "Why does it matter to you what I do? You made it very clear you wanted nothing to do with me when you left with him. " I gesture in the direction of Izo. "You lied to me about everything. Even your name. How do I know you aren't lying now? What makes you think I won't kill you right now and go back to kill your brother?"

Her face remains emotionless through my tirade. "I don't." she says simply. "All I can do is advise you."

I turn to leave, disgusted with this entire conversation. I don't want to talk to this blank Ri. "Gaara." She says before I've taken more than a few steps. I stop but do not turn. "My brother is planning something big. Be sure you are strong enough to stop him. And do not let him touch you." I wait but she says nothing more. Without looking back, I use my sand to transport me to my office.

I send Baki to fetch my siblings. Once all three are assembled in front of me I tell them what transpired in the desert. Kankuro looks murderous.

"You should have killed her when you had the chance just now, Gaara." He growls. "She's caused enough trouble."

"Gaara's lucky she didn't kill him." Baki interjects. "She managed to immobilize Gaara and control his limbs. She could have easily revealed his presence to her companions or preformed that jutsu where she explodes people. I don't think that, even with his sand, Gaara could defend from such an attack."

"She doesn't want to kill him." This remark, unusually quiet and thoughtful, comes from Temari. "She even warned him something is coming. I know," she raises a hand to silence Kankuro's objections. "she could be lying, but then why take the trouble to keep Gaara alive and away from her brother? With a warning no less."

Kankuro shrugs. "What I really want to know is how she halted Gaara's chakra flow. She must have stopped it completely if even his special sand wouldn't come to his defense."

A thoughtful expression crosses Baki's face. "I think I may know." We turn to look at him. "I've heard stories of a kekkei genkai called Dark Release. It's an advanced nature kekkei genkai that can be used to absorb, manipulate and release chakra taken from an opponent. Perhaps that is what she did to you."

I shake my head. "But she didn't take any chakra from me. She just suppressed it because the moment she let me go I could feel my chakra again and it was all there."

Baki frowns, then says "In any case, I have some information on the girl and her brother that you might be interested in. Kara and Izo, the master assassins. Nothing is known about their past, only that they showed up on our radar six years ago, when they were only eleven, as a potentially devastating threat. They are referred to as the 'sun and moon twins' or 'the violet-eyed demons'."

"How did you find this out?" I ask him.

"I've known about them for quite some time. The only reason I never mentioned them is because they never took any aggressive action against our village or Konaha."

We talk until the sun rises, debating how much of a threat Izo is to Suna and how Ri fits in with all this. We probably would have continued talking if a cloaked and hooded figure hadn't suddenly appeared in my office at nine in the morning. I gather my sand, ready to attack, and see Temari, Kankuro, and Baki prepare themselves similarly. "How did you get in to my office?" I demand.

The figure lowers their hood and we all gasp in realization. It's Ri. "An army of Mist shinobi approaches from the east. She says emotionlessly. "They will arrive by sundown. My brother is planning an internal attack." Her empty eyes rest on each of us in turn. "You cannot overpower him. Don't let him touch you. Use your-" She disappears as suddenly as she came.

"Wow." Kankuro says, looking at the spot where Ri, most likely a clone of her, just stood. "You were right Gaara. She really did change. Her eyes… it's like looking into a void."

"Never mind that." Baki interjects. "What are we going to do about what she just told us? Was that a threat? What if she is only telling us that an army is on their way to remove our strongest defenses, our shinobi, by sending them out into the desert on a wild goose chase?"

"No." Temari says emphatically, shaking her head. "Ri, or Kara, whoever she is, wasn't lying. There really is an army coming."

Kankuro frowns at her. "How do you know?"

Temari looks smug for a moment. "Call it a women's intuition. Gaara," she turns to me. "I think we should trust her on this."

I look at my sister critically. "You used to hate Ri without any just cause. Now that it turns out your worries are well founded, you're the president of her fan club? What is wrong with you?"

Temari glances away from me, looking into her lap, then looks back up with determination in her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with me. I just don't think Ri wants you dead. If she did, why would she have warned you about the potential attack? You are strong, but you wouldn't have been able to hold off and entire army and keep the village from being destroyed, even with all of the shinobi fighting. And if her brother is as strong as she claims, then you will have your hands full dealing with him even without a surprise attack against Suna."

I nod slowly. What Temari is saying does make sense. "Baki." I instruct. "Gather the chunin, jonin, and ANBU black ops. I want them moving out within the hour to meet the Mist. You will command them. Temari, Kankuro, and I will stay here and take care of Izo and his friends."

"But sir," Baki protests "the council-"

"Screw the council!" I yell, slamming my hand down on my desk. "There is an army approaching Suna! I will not have the innocent people of my village caught in the crossfire. By the time the council agrees on anything, the Mist will have long destroyed this village. You have your orders. Now go."

Without another word Baki hastens out the door, calling orders to the ninja in the hall. "Temari, Kankuro." I say, glancing at my siblings. "Go sleep. I want you well-rested and ready for tonight." They nod and follow Baki out the door.

I sink into a chair, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose. Ri said that brute force would not work against Izo. I need to outsmart him. Temari and Kankuro should be able to keep the other five busy enough that I can concentrate my efforts on Ri's brother. Since they share the same blood, I have to assume that he can also do something related to suppressing chakra. I cannot allow him to touch me, not when Ri has been so adamant about getting that point across. I should be able to manage that. I don't like to fight hand to hand anyway. How am I supposed to outsmart an opponent I know nothing about? I wish Ri had been more specific about what he can do instead of the cryptic no touching rule. How does Ri play into this anyway? I cannot rely on her for help, though I do find myself hoping she won't get hurt. If it comes down do it, would I be able to kill her or injure her to protect my siblings and my village? It bothers me that I cannot answer this question.

Thoughts like this swirl through my head as the hours tick by. It seems like only moments later Temari sticks her head in and says "Gaara? I have just received news that Baki and his force of sand shinobi have intercepted the army from the Mist. They are fighting now." I look up and glance out the window. Night has fallen.

Kankuro steps past her and says "Where do you want to wait for Izo and his crew? If they're coming for you, we should stay put and let them find you. I don't think Ri was supposed to tell you their plans."

I only have to think for a moment. "The roof."


	12. Chapter 12

Temari and I stand on the roof. Black Ant, Crow, and two wooden puppets rest nearby. Kankuro waits at the top of the stairs with Salamander's metal shield protecting him. We decided to hope that Izo can't use metal jutsu like Ri instead of wasting time preparing a myriad of wooden weapons.

I wish I could find out how Baki and my shinobi are faring. With any luck, there won't be too many casualties. I stare off into the distance, worrying, but I know exactly the moment Izo arrives. I turn to face him as he and one other ninja with blonde hair and dark eyes melt out of the shadows.

"Lord Gaara!" Izo calls out. "How nice to see you again." I ignore his greeting, instead looking at the ninja beside him while sending out my sand to make sure no one is sneaking up behind me. I'm momentarily disappointed to see Izo's companion is not Ri and glance around to see if she is here, just hiding out of sight in the shadows.

Izo chuckles. "Looking for my sister? She's not here. I had my… friends detain her. She is proving quite troublesome." He frowns. "It would seem that you have made quite an impression on her. I never dreamed she would tell you of my surprise attack. No matter. Once you're dead, the sand shinobi will fall as well."

"Well it's a good think Gaara isn't going to die." Temari says, pulling out her fan. "I hope you're prepared to though."

A delighted laugh bursts out of Izo's chest. "You have a lot of spunk, don't you? It's almost a shame you are going to die as well. I think I would have enjoyed talking with you."

Temari narrows her eyes but doesn't answer.

"Let the fun begin!" Izo announces, then fades back into the shadows. My sand dives in after him and I see Temari and Kankuro's puppets attack the other ninja. I turn my attention away from them, trusting my siblings to keep the other guy busy, and focus only on Izo. As I discovered last time, my sand coffin won't work on him so I instead send sand bullets in the direction he was in last. When the bullets hit nothing, I stop and cast my sand around the roof in a thin mist, trying to feel where he is hiding.

He's behind me, creeping closer to try and grab me. I wait until he's a hairs-breath from placing his hands on my shoulders and jump up, my leg lashing out in a kick to his jaw and flipping backwards away from him and landing in a crouch.

Izo staggers backwards, his head snapping back, and almost falls over. Steading himself, he gives me a grotesque grin, his jaw already starting to swell. I sent a piercing tendril of sand towards him, to run him through, but it barely touches his chest before falling apart and turning useless.

Thinking quickly, I once again spread my sand out thinly like I did when I was searching for him. The sand outlines his form but doesn't become unusable like the spear of sand and the coffin did. That means Izo must be able to stop chakra flow, but only a concentrated amount of it. My special sand is imbued with my chakra so I can't use it to attack him. That means using regular sand wouldn't work either because my chakra flows through that as well as long as I'm manipulating it. That must be why Ri didn't want Izo to touch me. If he can stop the chakra flow in sand, he must also be able to stop chakra flow in the body. However, as I noticed the first time we met, he doesn't render my sand useless forever. It's almost like he stuns my chakra because I regained control over the sand I used to attack him ten minutes later.

For the first time in my life, I find myself wishing I had properly learned taijutsu. Ninjutsu and genjustu aren't going to work against an opponent that can stop chakra. Though how he does it, I'm not sure. He doesn't have the Byakugan so he can't see the points in my body. In any case, I've never heard of a Byakugan stopping chakra flow without the ninja physically hitting chakra points.

Rock Lee, that strange leaf ninja, would have a better chance at defeating Izo since he doesn't have to use chakra in his attacks. I need to try and use the limited amount of taijutsu I do know, at least until I come up with a better plan.

I run at Izo, surprising him, and slam my fist into his chest, using my sand to push my arm forward and add to the power of my blow. Izo flies backward, slamming into the railing and almost flipping off the roof. At the last second his hand shoots out and grabs one of the bars and he hauls himself back up. From the painful way he breaths and holds himself, he must have broken at least a few ribs.

I wait as he pulls himself together then glares at me with an insane expression I know very well. It's same look I get when I'm on the edge of losing control. With a scream, Izo sprints towards me, leaping up and sending his foot flying towards me. My sand tries to block the kick but his foot smashes through it, connecting with my chest. I respond with a kick of my own which slams into his knee. Bloodlust fills me, making me stronger. Pressing my advantage, I use me sand to lift and push me forward, punching and kicking every part of Izo I can. There's no grace to my attacks and Izo manages a few powerful strikes of his own before giving up. He falls to the ground, motionless and I drop down as well. I start forward, about to use my bare hands to separate his head from his neck, when a terrified scream pierces through my bloodlust and distracts me, just for an instant, but it's long enough.

Quicker than I can see, Izo leaps from the ground and wraps his fingers around my wrists. A savage kick to the backs of my knees sends me to the ground. Panicking, I call my sand to wrap around Izo and crush him, but it just falls harmlessly around me. Regaining control over myself, I twist and struggle, trying to break free of his hold but he's too strong. I can't get away.

"How are you so strong?" I grit out, still trying to pull out of hands.

Izo gives a maniacal laugh. "I am the greatest assassin of this time. Do you really think I don't have a few tricks up my sleeve?"

Hot needles fill my veins and the sand that still writhes around me falls to the ground.

Glancing around, I see all of Kankuro's puppets, except for salamander, are smashed and laying in pieces across the roof. Temari stands in the middle of them, muscles locked and a terrified expression on her face. It was her scream that diverted my attention.

With a low cry, Temari falls to the floor in a faint. Salamander's shield collapses, and reveals an unconscious Kankuro. The shinobi they were fighting moves forward, coming to stand almost directly in front of me. I have failed. Again. I do not deserve the title of Kazekage. If I cannot even protect my siblings, how can I protect a village? I only regret that I will never see Ri again.

"Do it." I say in a low voice. "Kill me. It will be a mercy."

"With pleasure." Izo snarls. The shinobi in front of me raises two kunai, one in each hand. His muscles tense, about to throw the knives. I close my eyes, waiting for the cold steel to pierce my flesh. Without even my Armor of Sand, I am utterly defenseless.

"No." My eyes fly open, heart lifting at the new voice. It's Ri, expressive Ri, not blank Kara. She stands a few feet to my left clutching the rail for support. Blood trickles slowly down her face from a cut above her left temple and a laceration down the ribs on her right side speckles the ground with blood every breath she takes. It's her right leg that worries me though. I can't see anything wrong with it, but she can't put any weight on it at all, supporting herself with her left leg and the rail.

"Brother, don't do this." Ri locks eyes with Izo, her tone pleading. "Let Gaara go."

"And why should I do that?" I can't see Izo's face but I can tell he's sneering at her.

"Because this isn't you." Ri says desperately. "Remember when you swore to protect me after our grandparents died? You swore you would never let anything hurt me again. Killing Gaara would wound me more than if you slit my throat with your own hands. I have come to love the desert and this village. Please don't let our enemies destroy it."

Izo is silent for a long time. Suddenly his hand, still wrapped around my wrists, start shaking and I begin to believe he is actually thinking about what Ri said. I shouldn't have. Izo bursts out laughing, an insane, high-pitched laughter. Ri face hardens, turning stony as she looks at her brother.

"A pretty speech." Izo chokes out between gasps. "A good appeal to my better nature. But I think you've forgotten, little sister. I have no better nature." He directs his next words to the shinobi who still holds the kunai knives ready to strike. "Kill him."

Everything moves in slow motion. Before the ninja releases the knives I see Ri sprint forward, face twisted with pain as she steps on her right leg. Three knives fly towards me in quick succession, rotating slowly towards my throat but before the can connect with my skin Ri is there, shielding my body with her own. Izo screams with rage as the kunai bury themselves in her stomach and releases me to catch his sister as she falls to the ground. I'm frozen in shock, my muscles locked and eyes wide with horror.

Izo kneels on the ground, supporting Ri as she wraps her right hand around the hilt of one of the kunai sticking out of her. "Izo," she murmurs, giving him a shaky smile as she places the palm of her left hand on his cheek "I love you brother." Before he can reply she jerks the knife out of her torso and buries it deep into his chest. He falls back with a strangled cry and I lunge forward before Ri hits the ground, cradling her to my chest.

Her eyes lock on mine, searching for something. She must find whatever she's looking for because a peaceful expression crosses her face. She opens her mouth to say something but instead gives two quick jerks and falls limp. Her eyes fall shut as a trickle of blood makes its way down from the corner of her mouth.

"What happened?" Temari's horrified voice comes from over my shoulder. "Where's the guy I was fighting?" I look up quickly, berating myself for forgetting about my other opponent, but he's gone. I hear Kankuro walk unsteadily to Temari's side. Looking back down into Ri's white face I say "Take her to the hospital as quickly as you can. I will follow shortly." Without a word Kankuro bends down to gently lift Ri out of my hold. He and Temari disappear over the rooftops.

I stand and step forward so I'm standing over Izo. His eyes are closed and his chest rises and falls in short, shallow pants. I still can't feel my chakra but I don't need my sand to make him suffer. Before I can do anything his eyes open and I hesitate at the look in them. Instead of the madness that has always been present, there is a sort of dismayed clarity. "My sister," he wheezes, "is she dead yet?" I bristle at his implication that Ri is certainly going to die.

"She won't die." I tell him. "She's going to be just fine."

Izo give a short shake of his head. "Those… kunai. Not normal." They must be the same sort of poisoned kunai I was stabbed with all those months ago.

I drop to my knees beside Izo and lift him by the front of the shirt. "What's the cure? You must know. What is it?" I demand, shaking him.

Izo pulls at my sleeve weakly and I let him slump to the roof once again. "_She's _the cure." He chokes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I roar and almost reach down to shake him again.

Izo coughs, spraying a mist of blood into the air and doesn't answer. The light begins to fade from his eyes and I start to stand, feeling desperate. Before I can get all the way to my feet Izo's arm shoots out, his right hand clamping down around mine with more strength then I would have thought he still possessed.

A searing pain radiates through my palm, like he's branding me, and I growl in pain, trying to pull away. It's like our hands are fused together though and I can't rip mine away. The scorching pain spreads up my arm shooting into my head and I scream, stars dancing in front of my eyes. Before they disappear I hear Izo whisper "Take care of her. And tell her I'm sorry."

I look down at Izo as the stars fade completely. He stares glassily at the sky, his chest still. With a curse, I follow my siblings' path to Ri.

When I arrive in the hospital room a few minutes later, Temari, Kankuro, and two doctors stand around Ri's bed. She lays on her back, unconscious and looking so pale and delicate I feel like just the slightest touch might shatter her. A monitor next to the bed beeps every few seconds.

"What can be done for her?" I ask and everyone, except for Ri, jumps and turns to face me.

"Lord Kazekage," a doctor begins "her situation is dire. We tried to remove the kunai but," he frowns, looking perplexed "there was nothing there. The hilts came out as soon as we touched them, but there are no blades. To find out more we would have to run tests, but she's in critical condition. She has a deep, jagged cut down her side, deep enough that we can see scratched bone just by pulling back the skin. The tendons behind her right knee are almost entirely severed. Her organs are failing, she has severe internal bleeding, and her heartbeat is so slow and irregular it's a miracle she's still breathing. I'm sorry," the doctor looks away "but there's nothing we can do. She has sustained too many injuries."

I close my eyes and take a long, deep breath to keep from losing control. It's not the doctor's fault. My eyes snap open and I say "Leave."

"But," Kankuro protests and I glare at him. Temari places her hand on his arm and guides him from the room. The doctors follow them out, closing the door behind them. I approach the bed, grief and sorrow swirling inside of me. Ri. She gave her life so I could live. I reach out to stroke a finger down her soft cheek. The moment my skin makes contact with hers a blinding white light shoots out from behind my eyes and the hospital room disappears.


	13. Chapter 13

When the black spots clear from my vision and I can see again, I'm no longer in the hospital room besides Ri, I'm back on the roof. There are three people standing in front of me, two besides the railing talking quietly and one halfway between me and them. Izo's body as well as the pieces of Kankuro's puppets are gone. The whole scene has a feeling of unreality but also of familiarity.

With a slightly unpleasant jolt I realize the two people talking are Ri and… me. I walk forward to ask the individual closest to me, a girl with her back to me and long wavy black hair, exactly what the hell is going on. As I stop next to her she turns to face me and I step back in surprise. It's Ri.

Completely an utterly confused I look back and forth between the Ri and I standing and talking by the edge of the roof and the Ri in front of me.

"What…" I start. "What the hell is going on?"

Ri looks at me, the puzzlement on her face mirroring mine. "Gaara?" she asks. "How are you here?"

"I would tell you if I actually knew where 'here' is." I say, my gaze darting back to the Ri and I by the railing. The freeze, gentle conversation stopping mid-sentence, and my surroundings dissolve, replaced almost instantly by bright sunshine and grassy knolls.

I stand at the top of one of them, Ri by my side. The second versions of us have disappeared along with the roof. Below us, in a small valley, is a little cottage with a wisp of smoke curling from the chimney. Fifty feet away from it is a small river with a lush tree growing by its side. Two children climb its branches, shrieking and laughing. One child has long black hair, the other has short silvery-white locks.

"Is that…" I trail off as I look at Ri. She watches the children with a wistful expression on her face, but it's her physical appearance that makes me pause. Her shirt is soaked with blood around where she was cut across the ribs and where the kunai hit her and dried blood covers her left temple. She's standing squarely on both legs however, even though I can see the exposed flesh through the sliced fabric of her pants.

Ri must know how hopelessly lost I am because she gives a quiet sigh and then turns to face me. "I know this must make absolutely no sense to you but, before I explain, I have to make sure. Are our physical bodies safe?"

I frown, not really understanding the question. Isn't this my physical body? Unless I'm trapped in some sort of genjutsu.

Ri anticipates my question. "This isn't genjutsu, though this meeting is taking place in our minds. Physically, it looks like we are both asleep. We aren't sill on the roof are we?"

I shake my head. "No, we're in the hospital. You're," I swallow. "You're dying. Does that hurt?" I gesture towards her various injuries.

"No. Here, I can choose not to feel anything that my physical body does even though I reflect my physical body's appearance." She leans against a flat rock that appears behind her. "We have a lot to talk about. I know you wanted to know about my past and that I hadn't exactly been forthcoming with that information. It's not that I didn't trust you enough to tell you, I just didn't want you to be ashamed of me."

I stare at her. "How could I ever be ashamed of you? You know what I've done. I'm a monster. I killed because I liked it-"

"I kill too." Ri interrupts. "You must know by now. My brother and I are, were, assassins."

I shake my head. "But that's different. Izo said that you couldn't feel anything. I could feel and I embraced that feeling. I don't really understand what Izo said about you not being able to feel though…"

Ri gives a small laugh. "We are getting ahead of ourselves here. If you are still curious about me, I can tell you and show you my past."

"Please do." I say.

"Feel free to interrupt if you have any questions." She takes a deep breath, organizing her thoughts, and starts. "I'll begin by telling you about what little I have found out about my parents. My mother and father were missing-nin. They came from Konahagakure but I was never told their reasons for leaving it. I do know that they could not have been nice people because, a few years after they became missing-nin, they joined a relatively new village called The Village Hidden in the Shadows. It's not an authentic ninja village, but simply a place where missing-nin, if they can find it, can seek a sort of refuge from being hunted. I say a 'sort of' refuge because the ninja inhabiting the village are all thieves and murderers themselves."

The scenery changes again, going from grass to hard, blackened dirt. Shriveled trees dot the area around us and stale, dead scent fills the air. Dark rocks lay in piles everywhere, casting long, unnatural shadows. In the distance, a huge mountainous formation of dull black rock reaches towards the sky which is yellowish green and dotted with sooty grey clouds that cast a muted, dark light over everything. It's a desolate area.

"Concealed within that mountain is the Village Hidden in the Shadows. Its location is intensely guarded by all its inhabitants. While all of us may have no morals to speak of, we still want to live and giving away where almost all the assassins, thieves, and murders are hidden to the Five Ninja Villages would be catastrophic. While most of us are very powerful, we would not be strong enough to defeat an attack from your combined forces."

We go back to the cottage with the children. I'm a little disoriented by how we keep moving from one place to another while standing in the same spot as well as by how Ri refers to herself as a part of the Shadows. I don't say anything however, letting her continue.

"My mother and father joined this village knowing as they went in that they could never leave. They were very powerful and rose quickly in the ranks of the Shadows as being one of the best assassination teams."

"Hold on." I stop her, a new thought occurring to me. "If no one but the inhabitants of the village knows where it is, how do they get assignments from the outside world? Or are all the assassins just carrying out personal vendettas?"

"Some of the assassins do just kill past enemies but there are ways to get in touch without coming to our village. Each assassin or thug for hire has their own ways of being contacted. Some have a specific place far away from the village they go to on a set schedule and meet the people who require their services. Others have associates that connect them with potential employers and jobs. My brother and I used the latter method. The people who hire us are criminals as well and will not give us away for fear they will be imprisoned."

I nod and Ri goes on. "A few years after they arrived, my mother found out she was pregnant. Not wanting to raise her children in such an environment, my mother left. My father didn't go with her, choosing to keep killing rather than protect his wife and unborn children." Ri's fists clench. "My mother spent her pregnancy in hiding, constantly moving from place to place. No one is allowed to just leave the Village Hidden in the Shadows. One month before we were due, the missing-nin assigned to eliminate her found us. Instead of killing her however, they injected a poison into her womb, into my brother and I. The poison was supposed to kill my us, then her, slowly. Instead, something completely unexpected happened.

My mother grew very ill and used the last of her strength to flee to her parents' house. My grandparents led a modest lifestyle and loved their only daughter very much. Choosing to overlook the path she had taken in life they bought a small house far away from any villages, especially the Shadows, and took care of her until we were born. My grandmother was a medical ninja and my grandfather was a jonin.

"My mother died shortly after I was born. Izo and I were expected to die as well, but, as you can see, we didn't. It was my grandmother who figured out why we survived. When we were injected, almost all of the poison must have been inserted into my brother's main chakra point, poisoning his chakra. Since it wasn't in his bloodstream, he could live, but he couldn't use any of his chakra without experiencing intense pain. A fact he chose to fight for many years."

My surroundings shift subtly. The cottage stays the same but the weather changes. Instead of the balmy warmth of before, the air has a bite to it. A cold wind blows and the once green tree is now bare of its leaves. The two children, Izo and Ri, no more than four years old, stand a few feet apart facing a stern looking man. With a look of intense concentration, Ri makes hand signs and yells out "Shadow clone jutsu!" A perfect clone appears beside her with a small puff of smoke. Izo mirrors her but, halfway through the hand signs, he screams in pain and falls to the ground.

The man runs forward but before he can reach the flailing Izo the scene changes again. Izo stands alone in front of the cottage trying the shadow clone jutsu over and over again with the same result every time; collapsing in pain. He kind of reminds me of Naruto, the way he won't give up.

"Why didn't someone stop him?" I ask, though I think I already know the answer.

"Izo couldn't accept that he would never be able to use any kind of jutsu. He had this complex about protecting me from the world, especially since our grandparents told us about our parents and that there were dangerous people who wanted us dead. He tried learning taijutsu but had absolutely no aptitude for it. The year before our grandparents died was a terrible one for Izo. He retreated into himself, not talking to anyone except me. A seed of hatred started to grow inside of him, a seed that later grew into madness. I was the only person he loved and I loved him deeply as well. It was because of my brother that I advanced so quickly in my training. I wanted to show Izo that I didn't need him to protect me, that I could protect myself, in hopes that he would stop beating himself up about being weaker than me. During that last year with my grandparents was when I discovered my affinity for metal."

Izo disappears, replaced by a slightly taller Ri facing a table with several kunai and a target on it. She summons each knife, throwing each one into the target as soon as they land in her hands. Then she dives to the left, once again summoning the kunai into her hands and throwing them while moving. "Well done Sarriette!" her grandfather says from his position next to the table.

"Wait." I say, turning to face her. "I thought your name is Kara. That's what Izo kept calling you."

"Don't worry. I'll get to that soon." She responds and the scene changes again. The air is warm and the tree is full like when we first got here. The same Ri who was summoning knives now sits cross legged under the green tree. Izo sits next to her. Both their eyes are closed and they breathe slowly and deeply.

A question pops into my head. "Just before Izo died, he-" I cut myself off as a spasm of pain crosses her face. Mentally berating myself, I realize I didn't tell her that her brother died. I have no idea how to handle this situation so I just fall silent.

"That's alright." Ri says after a moment. "What were you going to ask?" While the pain fades from her face, it's still present in her eyes.

"He grabbed my hand and it almost felt like he was branding me. Do you know what he did?"

Ri nods slowly. "I know exactly what he did. It's because of that "brand" you're here right now. I was just about to go into that. Izo transferred his kekkei genkai to you."


	14. Chapter 14

I'm slightly horrified. "Wait," I ask. "does this mean I'm going to go mad too? Is the poison that ran through Izo's chakra in me now?"

She shakes her head but a look of uncertainty crosses her face. "No. At least, I don't think so. You're in a very unusual situation. The only time my kekkai genkai uses chakra is to make or break a bond. Even so, Izo and I are supposed to have the same kekkai genkai but his was a little… warped compared to mine. Compared to what it should be."

Uneasiness stirs in the pit of my stomach. I don't want to go back to the insane monster I was with Shukaku, the monster I still sometimes become. I've worked so hard to master myself, to become the Kazekage of the Sand.

Ri's voice is sympathetic. "As much as I would like to tell you that you're going to be just fine, I can't. I promised myself that I'm not going to lie to you anymore. The kekkai genkai that runs through my blood is a highly complicated one. I'm willing to bet you've never heard of it before. It's called the Level Bond."

She's right. I have never heard of anything called the Level Bond before.

"The Level Bond belongs to the Nara clan but it is such a well-kept secret that, even within the clan, few know it exists. Those outside the clan who have heard of it think it's only a legend. Since my brother and I inherited the Level Bond, we must belong to the Nara clan, though my grandparents never mentioned it. The number of people who actually inherit the kekkai genkai is so small that it isn't very difficult to keep the Level Bond under-wraps. My brother and I are the first in almost thirty years to have it and, of the two of us, I'm the only one who can use it with any success."

"What exactly is a Level Bond?" I ask.

"As I said before, it's really complicated so bear with me while I try to explain." She pauses for a moment, debating where to start. "You know that the Nara clan is known for their intelligence right? Well, the Level Bond takes the advanced brain capacity of the members of the clan to a different level. Those who possess it contain an extra lobe in their brain that allows for a higher level of brain function. Of course, that doesn't mean using the Level Bond is easy. It requires intense mental control, achieved through meditation, to master. The Level Bond allows the person who contains it to mentally connect with another person through physical touch, accessing their thoughts, memories, and chakra."

"That doesn't seem so difficult to understand. Though it does sound invasive." I interrupt.

Ri smiles grimly. "You didn't let me finish. This is where it gets difficult. There are two levels to a Level Bond. Stage 1 and Stage 2. In Stage 1, the initiator of the Level Bond can access another's thoughts and memories, but only the other person can access the initiators chakra."

I blink. "I don't get it."

She rolls her eyes. "I told you it was confusing. For example, if I created a Stage 1 Level Bond with you, I could hear your thoughts and shuffle through your memories by touching you, but I couldn't use your chakra. You however, could use mine, so long as we were touching."

"So the Level Bond is more beneficial for other people then it is for its user?" I ask. "I mean, I can see how being able to look at someone else's memories could be helpful, but then you open yourself up to having someone else use your chakra. Why would you take the risk?"

Ri smiles. "You only say that because you haven't heard the second part to it. While the user of a Level Bond can create a Stage 1 bond with anyone, a Stage 2 bond can only be created between two people containing the Level Bond. Both users establish a Stage 1 bond with each other, giving the other person access to their chakra and their all of their jutsu. The Level Bond now flows both ways."

"So each of them can access the others' memories, thoughts, and chakra?" I clarify.

"Exactly, but now distance doesn't matter. They don't have to be touching. They can both be across the world from each other but still do all that. And there's another thing. A Stage 1 bond can be broken but a Stage 2 bond is for life. No matter what, you are now bound to the other person, who can access your chakra and jutsu at any time."

I shudder. "That sounds terrible. What if the other person takes your chakra while you're in the middle of a fight?"

She nods. "That's why we do not choose our partners lightly. The Level Bond shows up rarely but, when it does, it's always present in two to eight children, always an even number, and all similar in age. We don't know how it's so precise but… Anyway. My brother couldn't use the Level Bond. While it requires no chakra to use, and by use I mean to pull away your partners chakra and go through their mind, it does require chakra to establish a bond. Since Izo couldn't use his chakra, we couldn't create a Stage 2 bond. I did however, without even knowing, establish a Stage 1 bond with him. I granted him access to my chakra, which he could use without pain.

"As I found out, that was a very foolish move. Without him ever knowing what it was like to manipulate chakra, the first time we tested out the bond was a disaster, due mostly to the circumstances. Watch and listen."

She turns to look at the young versions of herself and her brother, still meditating under the tree. The scenery turns black, but not in a worrying way. It's the sort of muted darkness that happens when you close your eyes on a sunny day. I can still feel the warm air on my face, hear soft breathing from next to me and the gentle splashing of the river.

I become aware of a muffled thumping, like a distant heartbeat. The darkness around me fills with tangled cords of a dim purple blue that I feel rather than see. With each heartbeat the cords disappear then appear again, brighter and slightly more organized. A thought that does not belong to me floats through my head. "The lights are so pretty. I wonder what they are." The heartbeats falls silent for a moment, its smooth rhythm interrupted, then resumes. When the cords appear again they are just at shadowy and twisted as they were when I first saw them.

The sound of an explosion shatters the darkness and the cottage and valley snaps into view again, except the cottage is no longer in existence. Only the foundation of it is left along with fiery debris that falls from the sky. A half circle of nine ninja surrounds Izo and Ri who stand back to back. One of the ninja casually tosses a shuriken at Ri, clearly expecting it to go right through her, and laughs in surprise when she slows it down and catches it. "My my." He calls out mockingly. "We have a little fighter here." Izo cowers, pressing himself closer to his sister who turns so that the tree protects him from the back and she covers him from the front.

"Don't come any closer. You'll regret it." Ri warns and I suppress a smile. Even faced with nine fully trained killers, her voice doesn't tremble. All the shinobi laugh at her bravado and one asks "What's your name, little girl?"

"That's none of your business." She replies boldly. Another one of nin turns to the obvious leader of the group, a man who stands in the middle of the semi-circle, slightly ahead of the rest. "C'mon Iba. Do we really have to kill them? Well, I guess the boy can go since he's no good but this girl has spirit. With a little bit of training…"

With a shout, Izo places his hands on Ri's shoulders and a blood red chakra wave immediately followed crackling blue one surges out of her. The scene freezes as the wave is about to hit the shinobi. I look down at Ri to ask what is going on but hold my tongue when I see her face. Her eyes are closed and an expression of intense concentration wrinkles her eyebrows and forehead. My surroundings jerk, then are replaced by a tiny, dark room. The only things it contains are a small cot and dresser with a flickering candle on top of it.

Just as quickly as it appears, the room dissolves, turning into a swirling mass of color and noise. In the chaos I see my face, then Izo's, then an unfamiliar man's, then me again. Slowly, all the colors fade, replaced by a silent, white space. White floor stretches away from us, disappearing into a soft mist that surrounds Ri and I in a forty foot radius in every direction. Ri drops my hand and places both of hers on her temples. After a moment, she relaxes her arms and looks up at me.

"Sorry about that." she says sheepishly. "I lost control for a moment there."

"What happened? Why did you and Izo freeze? How are you even showing me all of this? I ask.

"All the places we've been to and all the things you've seen are my memories. Showing you my memories the way I have been isn't easy. It requires an incredible amount of mental control. Whenever you saw something that didn't include seeing me, such as when I showed you the Hidden Shadows Village, you were seeing the memory through my eyes, as I saw it. When you could see me, such as on the roof and at my grandparents' house, I'm using many memories to re-create the scene. I'm pulling together my memory of the landscape as well as I what I was doing and what was happening around me as I was doing it. That requires a perfect recollection of almost everything around me and is very difficult. Showing you a memory through my eyes is worlds easier, but I wanted you to see everything."

I look around, "Where are we?"

"I don't think I have enough focus left to show you anything else so I brought you to a neutral zone, a place between both of our minds." Suddenly, she bends over and coughs, shoulders heaving. Red droplets spray the ground at our feet.

"Ri!" I reach forward, not sure what do to, but she holds her hand out, keeping me away. She straightens up and wipes the blood off her chin. "I'm getting worse. You're going to have to hear the abridged version of my past from here."

"I don't care about that." I growl. "Just tell me if I can do anything to keep you alive!"

She gives a humorless smile. "I'm getting there, though you may not like the solution. Anyway, that memory was the last time I saw the place where I grew up. Even though Izo and I had no idea we contained a kekkai genkai within us, instinct allowed me to create a Stage 1 bond with him and allowed him to use my chakra to protect us. Using me as an outlet, he projected all his poisoned chakra as well as mine, out to destroy our attackers. The memory stopped because I fainted at the sudden release of all my chakra. Izo didn't realize what he could do then but Iba, the only ninja left alive, did. The first chakra, the red one, passed through the nin and completely blocked their chakra flow. Then my chakra drew all the metal in the ground into razor sharp spikes that impaled them.

"Iba realized how powerful my brother and I could become, the twins who could stop chakra and manipulate metal, so he took us back to the Shadows and trained us personally. He was also the one who discovered we contained the Level Bond and managed to steal any recordings of it from the Nara clan.

"From the start of his training, Izo thrived. He loved that he could finally use his chakra for something. Through hours of training, he discovered ways to force his chakra out of his body and into another person or object without suffering. Since his chakra was filled with poison, this served the purpose of paralyzing the other opponents' chakra for a time, rendering it completely useless. He embraced his new role in life and I watched in horror as he became more and more insane.

"I couldn't handle the way of life in the Shadows. I failed miserably at my training, full of potential but unwilling to learn anything that would end someone else's life. The only reason they didn't kill me was because of Izo's instability. At just the age of ten, he was one of the Shadow's most valuable assets. I was the only person who had some measure of influence over him and they didn't know what he would do if I was gone. So instead of having me killed, they did something much worse.

"Knowing that it was my softer personality that was keeping me from advancing in my training, Iba sealed away my feelings. Sarriette was gone and in her place was an alter-ego, a blankness with a tendency towards cruelty named Kara. Well, I shouldn't say gone. The real me was still there but it was locked away in much the same fashion as the nine-tails is locked inside Naruto Uzumaki. I watched as she used my body and chakra to become one of the most powerful ninja in the village and as she killed countless good people with my brother.

"Izo didn't even seem to notice that it wasn't me anymore. He was too far gone. And no matter how much I fought, no matter how much I raged and screamed and cried I was bound too tightly. I hated every minute of my half-life, hated that Kara could kill people so effortlessly. I also despaired. It wasn't like Iba had inserted a new person into my body. No, Kara was me, a part of me I wish I had never discovered. I understand you Gaara because we are the same."

Ri stops, tears glistening in her eyes and voice trembling. I stare at her, completely shocked. What she is describing is utter hell. I know, because I have lived it. I know what it's like to be stuck inside an unresponsive body, watching as you kill people. But she does not understand me if she thinks what we went through is the same.

"How can you tell me that we are the same?" I ask hollowly. "You said it yourself, you fought against the binding and you obviously were strong enough to break it. While I might have not wanted to kill at first, I grew to love feeling so alive at the moment when I took someone else's life."

"No!" Ri exclaimes vehemently. "That wasn't you any more than Kara was me. That was Shukaku. You cannot entirely blamed for what you did when you were a jinchuriki. And it's not like the people around you made it any easier for you to deal with what you were. The fact that you still won't let go of what you did in the past, that you torture yourself with the knowledge of what you could become once again, shows how good of a person you are."

I don't want to hear this right now. I don't need my ego stroked while the girl I'm still in love with, even after everything that has happened, is dying.

"You said you were going to tell me how to save you." I remind Ri.

"Right," she nods "those kunai, the ones I stopped to save you, aren't normal. They are like the ones you were injured with the first time we met."

"I know." I say. "They're poisoned. Izo said that you're the cure."

"You see, they aren't actually poisoned." I look at her quizzically and she goes on. "They are imbued with my brother's chakra, as well as with mine. As soon as they enter the body, they explode, sending thousands of pieces of chakra-stopping shrapnel into the body. They allowed us to kill many powerful opponents who normally wouldn't be too effected by a wound from a kunai knife without having to fear some sort of counter-attack before they died. There really isn't a cure once the kunai have exploded inside you."

"Then what-" I start but Ri talks over me.

"Sure, I could pull out the pieces of metal, but the damage is already done. Unless a powerful medical nin was around, the victim would die from internal bleeding."

I frown at her. "Then how did I survive?"

"Oh come now Gaara." Ri says with a challenging glint in her eyes. "You must have some idea."

I fall silent, mulling it over. An idea begins to form in my head, but an idea with many holes. "You established a Stage 1 bond with me? But, I don't see how that would keep me alive…"

"I thought I told you about that." Ri says. I give her a blank look. "No? Well, ninja tied together with a Stage 2 bond, we call them Bound, are in a sense, almost immortal. If one dies while the other is still alive, he or she will come back to life. The only way to kill Bound ninja are to kill them both at the same time. Or old age. A Stage 2 bond is the most intimate mentally intimate thing a person can do. Once you're bound, it's more like one person shares two bodies. There are no secrets between Bound. While the connection between Stage 1 partners isn't as powerful, it still has the effect of lengthening the mortally injured partners' life. When I initiated the Stage 1 Level Bond with you, I lengthened your rapidly diminishing life force, giving you enough time to heal so you wouldn't be in danger of death any more. That ointment helped a lot as well."

"Why would you do that?" I ask, honestly confused. Why would Ri risk that I would use her chakra, just to save my life? She didn't even know me then.

Ri's face grows solemn. "It's because of me, Kara, you were attacked in the first place. As my brother said, my assignment was simple. I was supposed to take a small task force, kill you, and leave. What Izo didn't know, however, was that I was also supposed to get a piece of information right from here." She lightly taps my forehead. "According to the man who hired me, a lackey from the Mist, you know a very valuable and very powerful secret. My employer wanted me to get this information and relay it back to him. He didn't trust Izo not to somehow forcibly extract this secret from me and become even stronger. While you were dying, I established the bond and sorted through your memories. Your pain, your suffering, and your strength to overcome your past and protect the very people who reviled you gave me the strength to break out of my cage and overcome Kara."

"But," I start "I don't have a secret that would be of any value to anyone."

Ri nods. "I know that now, but I didn't then. The first time I left you at Suna was because I was supposed to meet my escort to travel back to the Shadows. I know you noticed I was acting strange. I was afraid they were nearby and had seen me with a very alive you and were going to go back to the village to get my brother. Thankfully, they weren't nearby but I knew they would become suspicious if I never showed up, so I went to go meet them to kill them and buy me some time.

"You needed to die so the Mist could take over Suna. They have become very power-hungry of late. When I heard that the Mist has aborted their attack on Suna, I knew that meant my brother had been informed of my mission and had some sort of trick up his sleeve. That's why I went with Izo when he came to get me. I needed to know what he was planning so I could warn you."

"I see why you needed to go, but why didn't you tell me this?" I ask.

"I was going to, but then Izo came and I knew I would never be able to hurt you by making you think I had betrayed you, but Kara could. So I let her out, hoping I could re-establish control over her. Thoughts of you were the only thing that kept me strong. Even though it may have seemed like I didn't care for you, I never stopped loving you."

"But the ring. You didn't keep the ring I gave you." I say

"Of course I did." She reaches under the collar of her shirt and pulls out a thin silver chain. At the end of it lies the ring. "I didn't want Izo to see it so I changed my outfit a little and put it on a necklace."

I give her a small smile, hope stirring in my chest. That hope recedes quickly as I remember she's dying. "You still haven't told me how to save you."

Ri fiddles nervously with the ring around her neck. "Well, if you established a Stage 2 bond and made us Bound, you could use my metal connection to pull the metal out of me and, even if I die because my injuries are too great, I'll still come back to life."

I don't even have to think about it. "Just tell me how."

"Don't be so hasty." She cautions. "Once it's done, there's no going back. You're stuck with me for the rest of our lives. You said it yourself, it's invasive. You will never again have a private thought or moment to yourself."

I nod, considering her words. "I wouldn't mind being Bound to you. If there's anyone who I wouldn't mind sharing all my thoughts with, it would most definitely be you."

"Well," she says "If you're absolutely sure…"

"I am."

"Ok, then give me both your hands." I do and she flips them so my palms are facing upwards. "What in the…" I murmur, catching sight of my left palm. Dark, blocky lines stretch from the corner of my right palm opposite my thumb, stretching diagonally across my hand and ending at the top of my index finger. "What is this?"

Ri smiles. "It's your mark. To create a bond you have to channel the chakra through your mark. Everyone with a Level Bond kekkai genkai has one and every mark is unique. Yours looks nothing like my brothers did."

"Do you have a mark?" I ask. "And, speaking of marks, what's that sun on your hip? And why is my kanji sometimes inside of it?"

"Oh this?" she lifts up the bottom of her shirt and traces the outline of the sun. It seems to have faded a little bit, though my kanji, which is now visible, is still as dark as ever. "This is the seal that was used to bring out Kara. It's gotten lighter because the seal is getting weaker now that I can switch between us at will. I'm not certain why your kanji is there, but I have two potential ideas."

"One," she holds up one finger. "which is the more likely reason, is that, since I created a Stage 1 bond with you but you don't have the kekkai genkai, any symbol that stood for you would appear on my body. But that doesn't account for the placing of it. The Nara clan recorded very little of the Level Bond, preferring, I'm sure, to keep it passed down from trustworthy member to trustworthy member verbally. While the papers Iba stole were helpful, they did not explain everything. One thing they said was that, when a Stage 2 bond is formed, the marks on the hands of each partner with appear on the hand of the other. If a Stage 1bond is formed, the nin forming it gets a mark that should stand for the person they are tying themselves to. Two," she holds up another finger "I think it was placed within my seal and not on my palm because it was you that helped me break the seal."

She holds up her left hand. It's bare, but after a moment spiraling designs spread across her palm. Unlike mine, it covers her entire hand and fingers. "I can choose whether to show it or not, which is why you haven't seen it before now. Once we bond, your mark will cover my right and mine will cover your left. Are you ready?"

I nod and she places her hands down on mine so our palms are touching. "Close your eyes." She says and I comply. "Now, do you remember the glowing blue threads I showed you? Search your mind for them." I frown. How am I supposed to do that? I try anyway, figuring I might was well humor her. "I see them." I say, surprised.

"Well of course you do. Take those threads and pull them apart, slicing them in half. Tell me when you've done that." This is much harder. Every time I've almost got it, my concentration snaps and they pull back together. "I can't." I say, frustrated.

"Yes you can." She murmurs. I grit my teeth, throwing all my energy into separating the threats. Slowly, very slowly, they finally split apart. "I got it." I pant, feeling sweat dripping down my forehead. "But I don't think I can hold them much longer."

At the edges of my consciousness, I feel another presence. More of those threads are coming. Even though they are identical to mine, I know they belong to Ri. With a silent snap, Ri's threads latch onto mine and bind together.

"It is done."


	15. Chapter 15

I open my eyes and find that I'm back in the hospital room. It seems as though nothing has changed. Ri still lays unconscious and the machines around her still beep quietly. Could it all have been some sort of strange dream? I look at my hands. One bears my mark and the other hers. No, it wasn't a dream. Why don't I feel any different then? Shouldn't I be able to hear Ri in my head? Unless the binding didn't work since the kekkai genkai was given to me instead of me inheriting it.

_Gaara?_ I can hear Ri's voice, though not in my ears. She's speaking directly into my mind. "Ri?" I say aloud, not sure how the mental talking works.

_Oh thank goodness. _She sounds relieved. _I wasn't sure this would work. I forgot Izo had gotten his hands on you. Looks like you got your chakra back just in time._

"Yes." I say. "I don't know what I would have done if this had not worked."

_If you just think something, I'll hear it. _Ri tells me. _You don't need to speak out loud. _

_Like this? _I ask and feel her smile, though her face doesn't change.

_Exactly. Once I get better, we are going to have to do a lot of training. We both are going to need to learn the limits of our combined abilities. _

_Yea. _I murmur, looking down at her. _So, what am I supposed to do?_

_Well, _she starts _what I do is very similar to your sand ability, so it should be easier for you to pick up then it would be for anyone else. Try doing the same thing you would do to call more sand, except with metal. Remember though, _she warns, _my ability is like a magnet. Don't use too much chakra. _

Gathering my chakra I follow her instructions. I can feel all the large metal objects in the room, big and small, but not on the microscopic level Ri has described. Curious to see what will happen, I give a small tug on the connections I have with each metallic object. With a hard jerk, everything comes flying towards me. Just before all the heavy monitors that fill room slam into Ri's bed and me, everything freezes. I blink in surprise as I notice a scalpel hovering centimeters away from impaling me through my right eye.

_I told you not to use too much chakra. _Ri admonishes as the scalpel falls to the ground and everything else moves back into its proper place.

_I thought you couldn't use chakra. _I say, trying not to sound accusing.

_I can't. _She says simply. _I used yours. Another handy dandy Bound ability. _

_If you can use my chakra, why don't you just pull the metal out of yourself? _I ask._ I don't want to mess up the procedure and end up damaging your internal organs even more. _

_Because I'm in too much pain. _As she says that I notice an intense discomfort inside of me and behind my knee. It's not quite pain, but it doesn't feel so great either. After a moment it subsides and I ask _What was that? _

_Right now I'm barely conscious. _Ri explains. _I can't entirely feel my wounds, which is good, but I can't do more with our bond unless I wake up more. As newly Bound, when I feel pain, so do you. While I may have been born with the kekkai genkai, I'm still new to this part of it. I know there's a way to separate my pain from you and vice versa, but I need more time and less stress to do it. To control your chakra, I became slightly more conscious and you felt just the barest echo of what I'm feeling right now. I'm sorry, _I can feel her shake her head _but you're going to have to do this. _

All my uncertainty fades, replaced by determination. Ri needs my help. I am the Kazekage of the sand. I had Shukaku taken out of me and lived. I fought my father and won in the Fourth Shinobi War. I can do this.

I can feel Ri's pride at my train of thought. _That's right. _She says. _Now, place both your hands on top of one of the places where I was hit with I kunai. _I do so, gingerly. I don't want to hurt her even more. _I'm going to tell you what needs to be done, then I'm going to fall completely unconscious. _She tells me.

_Why can't you stay with me through it? What if I need your guidance? _I ask.

_The pain of my injuries is going to increase tenfold when you start pulling the bits of metal out of my system. I don't want you to go through that._

_The hell with how I feel_ I snarl.

_I don't want you to get distracted. You're going to be performing a very advanced technique. I have complete faith in you, Gaara. _Before I can respond she continues. _In a moment you're going to close your eyes and once again send out your chakra to connect with metal. I want you to ignore all the metal surrounding you, focus only on what's inside my body. Once you've connected with it, draw it out slowly. _

_What if I start to pull out the iron in your blood? _I ask.

_You won't. _She sounds so sure. Picking up on that thought she says _My abilities with metal are much greater than yours. The pieces of kunai aren't microscopic. The iron in my blood is. You won't be able to connect with it. I am certain of this. After you have removed all the metal I will begin to heal. My wounds will close faster if you are near me. _I feel the ghost of her lips press to my forehead. _I love you_. She murmurs, then fades from my awareness.

The absence of her voice in my head leaves a hole in my heart that I wasn't even aware of. Everything she's done, she's done for me. Now, I will do something in return for her.

Closing my eyes I once again feel for the metal around me. Instead of pulling on the connections I feel with the bigger metal objects, I let my awareness of them fade, drawing in my range to focus just on the bed, then just on Ri. After a few minutes, I locate what must be the pieces of metal from the kunai. I can feel them. Some are embedded into her organs while others float around. Just like she said, the only metal I feel drawn to is the shrapnel. I can't feel anything else. Slowly, carefully, I start to pull the pieces towards me, one at a time. I focus on just a single piece, pulling it towards my hands then keeping it there while I start on another piece. It's a long, painstaking process, but I get quicker as time goes on.

As I work the sun rises, sets, and rises again. When I'm almost done I become dimly aware of the sound of the door opening and people filing into the room. I shut out all distractions, focusing only on pulling out the metal. I feel a hand on my forearm but my sand pulls it off.

Finally, I pull the last piece to the entrance of the wound, where all the other pieces are waiting to be fully removed. Just to be sure I carefully check her body once last time. I don't want to miss anything. Satisfied, I lift my hands, being sure to only pull the small bits of metal towards me instead of everything in the room.

There's a small gasp and a tray appears under my hands and I sever the connection, allowing the pieces to fall on to it with a small clinking noise. A wave of exhaustion hits me and I collapse onto the chair that suddenly appears beneath me. A glass of water is thrust into my hands and I gulp it down then hold out the glass for more. After I have drunk my fill, I look up into the shocked gazes of my siblings.

Every part of me hurts. My head aches, my muscles tremble, and I feel like I haven't eaten anything in weeks. These aren't the usual symptoms of me using too much chakra. In fact, I can still feel my chakra. If anything, I feel as if I'm gaining more every second I sit, even feeling as terrible as I do. A cold sweat breaks out across my body. I haven't had the time or the thought to make my Armor of Sand and I feel hot. Too hot.

"Gaara…" Tamari starts, looking at a loss for words. "You're… you're glowing."

What? I look down at myself and see that I am indeed glowing. A soft white light illuminates me, connected by a thin white strand to Ri, who is also glowing. I stand and put my hand on hers, weaving our fingers together, and the light get brighter, especially around her injuries.

As we watch, the severed skin on Ri's abdomen starts moving, stitching itself back together. The same goes for the cut on Ri's temple and, when the doctors check, the muscles on the back of her knee. That injury takes the longest to heal.

"Incredible." The medical ninja murmur.

Color rushes back into Ri's skin and she slowly opens her beautiful amethyst eyes. I feel our connection snap back into place and her thoughts fill my head. As first it's only sensations. She's comfortable and feels better than she has in a long time. She's also thirsty. Before she can say anything I untangle my hand from hers and get her a glass of water, the same one I used.

By the time I hand her the water, the glow has faded around both of us along with my soreness. I move back to stand with my siblings as the medical ninja examine her, taking her blood pressure and listening to her heart beat, among other things.

Slowly, Ri sits up, swinging her legs off the bed to stand. I am about to move forward to help her but her soft voice in my head says _No. Let me do this alone. _

I give her a mental nod as the medical ninja both protest, insisting she should get more rest before she tries to walk. She pushes them to the side and gets shakily to her feet. Her first few steps are unsteady, but she quickly regains her balance, stepping confidently on her healed leg. Seeing her do so, the medical ninja have her do a few flexibility exercises, seeing if her knee does all it's supposed to. It does.

One of the ninja looks at me. "This is simply incredible. The muscles and tendons behind her knee were completely severed. If that had been her only injury, I would have said she would have never been able to walk without assistance again, unless the Fifth Hokage had healed her. You truly are amazing, Lord Kazekage."

"That's enough." Ri says, waving away the other ninja. "I'm completely fine. Gaara," she looks at me, speaking aloud for everyone else's benefit "would you mind if I took a shower and changed clothes? You know how much I dislike being covered in blood."

Before I can answer Kankuro steps forward and growl. "You're not going anywhere Ri, Kara, whatever your name is. You've caused Gaara way to much trouble. You and your sick, twisted brother. Get ready to pay for your actions."

Ri freezes, turning so blank that I'm not even sure what she's thinking. For a moment I worry that Kara has taken over again. Then a wide smile breaks across her face and she begins to laugh. Kankuro and Tamari exchange mystified glances. "I always knew I liked you." Ri says between giggles. "It's wonderful to know how devoted you are to Gaara." I can feel the affection in her thoughts and I push aside the instant jealousy that arises from it.

I decide to intervene before my brother and continue with his noble but misguided notions. "Let her be Kankuro. She saved my life."

Kankuro looks at me in disbelief. "Just because she didn't give you away to her brother and warned us about the attack? That hardly counts as saving your life."

"No." I shake my head. "She took the kunai meant for me and then killed Izo to save my life." Sorrow, Ri's sorrow, fills me. She really did love her brother, even though he was cruel and bitter.

Tamari looks at Ri in amazement. "You killed your brother, your twin brother, just to save Gaara?"

"It wasn't just to save Gaara." Ri says softly. "It was to save the man I love." Her sorrow fades, replaced by full, intense love. I almost gasp at the strength of the devotion she has for me.

"What exactly happened on the roof? And how did you manage to heal her when even the best medical ninja in our village could do nothing?" Tamari asks and I hesitate as I feel a wave of exhaustion flow through Ri. While she might be physically healed, the death of her brother at her own hands is taken an immense mental toll on her.

"I'll tell you later." I say to Tamari. "Right now I need to take care of Ri."

We leave my siblings and the medical ninja behind as we make our way out of the hospital. As we walk out the doors and onto the streets of Suna I feel Ri's, not quite annoyance or aversion but a mix between the two, at having to go almost all the way across Suna to get back to my room. Without hesitation I swing her up into my arms and travel by rooftop, taking only fraction of the amount of time it would have if we had walked. I set her down on the roof of my building. Thankfully, someone has removed Izo's body. I don't think she would have reacted well to seeing it.

Once in my room, Ri heads directly into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind her. The shower starts and she asks _did you get rid of all my clothes or did you keep some? _

_I haven't been in here since the day you left. _I tell her. In response to her questioning thought I answer _It was too painful. _

She's silent for a moment then says _I'm so sorry. If there was any other way, I would have stayed. _

Steam drifts out the door and I pull out some of her clothes from the drawer, a pair of pants and a leather band, and have my sand place it in the bathroom for her. Taking off my gourd, I place it next to my small desk and pull out another set of clothes, identical to what I am wearing. Once Ri is done, I will take a shower as well.

The water shuts off and I give her a few minutes to change. She walks out in clean clothes and a brush in her hand and we change places, me in the bathroom her in front of the mirror near my bed. I let my thoughts wander as the hot water pours over me, trying not to think of anything.

When I feel sufficiently clean, I step out, dry myself quickly, and pull on my clothes, realizing I somehow managed to forget my shirt. Still lost in thought I go to grab one when I feels Ri's shock. Turning to face her I see her eyes are riveted on me. On my bare chest specifically.

"Skies above." She murmurs faintly and I cross my arms, feeling self-conscious.

"What?" I ask backing towards the dresser.

"Don't move." She commands and I stop. She moves to stand in front of me, then uncrosses my arms and stares at me. Tuning in to her thoughts I hear _would not have suspected he'd be so muscular! Look at that six-pack, and those arms… I might have to make it a rule that there are no shirts allowed in the bedroom. _

Chuckling, I say _I can hear you, you know._

Her thoughts stop, then take on a slightly embarrassed air. _Yeah, I totally forgot about the bond. _

Then the last part of her thoughts sink in. _Wait, _I ask _are you going to stay? _

With an air of uncertainty, she says _Well, I would like to if you would let me. _

I hesitate, torn, and she lets me organize my thoughts. I've completely forgiven her for what she did and I still love her as much as, if not more than, when she left but… staying, especially in a romantic sense, isn't in her best interest. There's a reason I haven't sought out the company of a female, a reason she doesn't seem to understand. I'm not safe. I'm only going to end up hurting her.

_Why do you always underestimate me? _Ri asks, annoyed. _I thought we had settled this already. I'm not some delicate china doll that will shatter the minute you drop me. _

She runs her fingers lightly down my chest and shiver, loving the feeling. _Besides, _she says, a mischievous look in her eyes, _I like it a little rough. _

Her desire flows through me, mixing with my own, and we're somehow suddenly on the bed. Ri is pinned underneath me, her hands on my lower back. I lower myself until only centimeters separate our lips and ask her one more time _Are you sure that you want this? I warn you, once I claim something, I get __very__ possessive. _

Ri grins and gives me a smoldering look. _Good, cause so do I. _

Instantly my mouth crushes hers and she slides her palms up to grasp my shoulders. She tilts her chin to deepen the kiss and opens her mouth, lightly tracing her tongue over my lips. I groan and part them, allowing her slip her tongue into my mouth.

The moment she does my chakra explodes, nearly tripling in its amount. Ri must have felt the same thing because she gives a small gasp and drags her fingernails down my back, breaking the skin. We pull away for a moment, breathing heavily.

_What was that? _I ask Ri with wide eyes. My chakra starts draining. Not much, I still have about double my normal amount by the time it stops.

_I think…_ she hesitates. _Let me try something. _

She pulls my face down to hers again, sliding her tongue into my mouth without hesitating. Confused, but not unwilling to let her continue with this experiment, I turn over so she's now resting on top of me and run my palms up her smooth waist. Once again my chakra levels rise, growing greater than anything I ever had even with Shukaku inside me.

Ri breaks away, sitting up a little with a considering look in her eyes. _I get it. After you healed me, Izo's chakra was still affecting mine. It must have worn off just now. I knew that Bound shared their chakra, but I didn't know it was to this extent. _

_Oh, _I say, catching on. _Instead of my body containing my chakra and your body containing yours, and both of us having the ability to take chakra from one another on and as needed basis, both our bodies contain both our chakra's. _

_Exactly. _She nods. _But that means you can use up all of your chakra as well as mine, and I can do the same. We are going to have to spend a lot of time figuring out our limits._

As we talk, the extra chakra once again fades away, until all that is left is Ri's and mine combined, just like before. I don't even have to ask, Ri just picks up on my questioning feeling.

_If I had to guess, I'd say that strong emotions can amplify our chakra. _

_Why don't you know for sure? _I ask.

_I told you, the papers Iba stole didn't contain a whole lot of information. I don't suppose you happen to know any members of the Nara clan? _She says hopefully.

_Actually, _I say slowly, _I do. Shikamaru, Temari's boyfriend, is a Nara. _

She turns that information over in her head for a few moments before her thoughts once again turn to me. She runs her hands down my arms and asks _how on earth did you become this muscular?_

I give her a small grin. _Aren't you supposed to know everything about me? You did go through my memories before I even knew you. How rude._

Ri rolls her eyes and smacks me lightly on the shoulder. _It's not like I could sort through every one of your memories. Since I was in a hurry, I only saw things you thought about frequently. Strangely enough, this perfection _she gestures to my upper body _was not something you dwelled upon often. _

I shrug. _Well, I've been carrying around a gourd filled with sand on my back for over ten years, as well as a layer of sand covering my entire body. You can't expect a weakling to do that. I've also spent some time working on lifting my sand when it's wet and as heavy as lead. _

_Huh. I should have come to that conclusion myself. We are going to have to figure out this shared chakra stuff however. _She says.

Tired of talking, I pull her down closer to me. _We have all the time in the world to figure that out. _

Ri catches on to my mood instantly and purrs _indeed we do. _She slowly kisses her way up my chest, teasing me, then grazes the side of my jaw with her teeth before covering my lips with hers. I feel little sparks of electricity as she runs her hands across my stomach and crush her to me with a bruising grip.

I loosen my hold, not wanting to hurt her, but she murmurs against my lips "No. Hold me tighter." We kiss until I can't breathe and then kiss some more. I don't want this to ever stop and I know Ri feels exactly the same way.

Her hands slip lower down my stomach and I grab her wrist, gasping as I see her intentions in her mind.

_Have you ever done this before? _I ask, not sure I want to know the answer, but she shakes her head.

_No. You? _

_Of course not. _ I look at her, worried. _I don't want to hurt you. I've heard it hurts when a girl does it for the first time. _

She gives me an impish smile. _Well we won't know until we try._

THE END?


End file.
